1. Discussion
6.1 Interpretation
The ways in which SOHO P.6. could be interpreted include, but are not limited to, narratives involving the development of contraception, women’s sexual health, and the traditionally patriarchal nature of the medical profession.
Beyond medically-based interpretation, SOHO P.6. represents a particular kind of collecting practice, and could be used to highlight both the development and decline of pathology collections in the UK. This includes the possibility of exploring the development of legislation governing the use of human tissue and the conservation practices used in in mounting human tissue specimens.
As well as looking to this specimen’s past it could also be beneficial to explore the future of sexual health and the role that women play in society. Campaigns involving the re-classification of sanitary products with regard to current taxation and the [missing??]
6.2 Value and Significance
The Collections Council of Australia defines significance as “the meaning and values of an item or collection, or what makes it important…the historic, aesthetic, scientific and social values that an item or collection has for past, present and future generations” (pg 63). There are a number of parameters through which to establish the significance of an object or collection, including historic, artistic, aesthetic, scientific, research potential, social and spiritual values (pg 10). The structure employed by the Collections Council of Australia (Appendix 7) will be used to assess the value of this specimen, although it must be noted that some of these criteria cannot be objectively measured. 6.2.1 Primary Criteria Historic (is this formatting consistant?) SOHO P.6. has a relatively high degree of historic value for its contribution to the understanding of the pathology activities that took place at the Soho Hospital, and the use of the collection as a teaching tool for the medical community. It is a product of the historical practice of collecting human tissue for the purpose of teaching and display, something which was almost universally done without prior consent of the donor or their next of kin. It is also a testament to the development and use of contraceptive devices in the past, particularly as it is probable that this uterus was retained because of the stem pessary within it and not due to any particularly interesting features within the organ itself. Artistic or aesthetic SOHO P.6. is not an artwork or a piece of design in the conventional sense, and so there are many aspects of this criterion that are not applicable. However, the aspects regarding how well the specimen has been designed and made can be applied in relation to the pot. The pot has been well designed and fits the human tissue and device well, with neither of these elements moving when the pot is tipped. However the back plate is slightly too small for the pot, which means that the crafting of the pot was not perfect. Overall, the specimen does not have a high degree of artistic or aesthetic significance, however it could be considered to have moderate value with regard to the design and manufacture of the pot. [should we add about feminist art? Like see appendix if we don’t have space?] Social or spiritual There is no established spiritual value attached to this specimen. It could be considered to be of social value to the academic community at UCL, particularly within the medical departments, as other materials from the same collection at the Soho are actively used in teaching. Although this specimen in particular has not been used in this way since entering the UCL collection, it would have been used this way in the past and theoretically would hold the same value and would be used in the same way (the barrier to this currently is the location of the …show more content…
However, through the course of this report, more information has been uncovered; research of archive records has uncovered the chain of ownership for the specimen, which has been corroborated through oral history records (see Appendix 1). These records have also provided more information about the creation of the specimen. With these additional records now available and directly connected to the specimen, the authors anticipate that this will improve its level of significance within the
6.1 Interpretation
The ways in which SOHO P.6. could be interpreted include, but are not limited to, narratives involving the development of contraception, women’s sexual health, and the traditionally patriarchal nature of the medical profession.
Beyond medically-based interpretation, SOHO P.6. represents a particular kind of collecting practice, and could be used to highlight both the development and decline of pathology collections in the UK. This includes the possibility of exploring the development of legislation governing the use of human tissue and the conservation practices used in in mounting human tissue specimens.
As well as looking to this specimen’s past it could also be beneficial to explore the future of sexual health and the role that women play in society. Campaigns involving the re-classification of sanitary products with regard to current taxation and the [missing??]
6.2 Value and Significance
The Collections Council of Australia defines significance as “the meaning and values of an item or collection, or what makes it important…the historic, aesthetic, scientific and social values that an item or collection has for past, present and future generations” (pg 63). There are a number of parameters through which to establish the significance of an object or collection, including historic, artistic, aesthetic, scientific, research potential, social and spiritual values (pg 10). The structure employed by the Collections Council of Australia (Appendix 7) will be used to assess the value of this specimen, although it must be noted that some of these criteria cannot be objectively measured. 6.2.1 Primary Criteria Historic (is this formatting consistant?) SOHO P.6. has a relatively high degree of historic value for its contribution to the understanding of the pathology activities that took place at the Soho Hospital, and the use of the collection as a teaching tool for the medical community. It is a product of the historical practice of collecting human tissue for the purpose of teaching and display, something which was almost universally done without prior consent of the donor or their next of kin. It is also a testament to the development and use of contraceptive devices in the past, particularly as it is probable that this uterus was retained because of the stem pessary within it and not due to any particularly interesting features within the organ itself. Artistic or aesthetic SOHO P.6. is not an artwork or a piece of design in the conventional sense, and so there are many aspects of this criterion that are not applicable. However, the aspects regarding how well the specimen has been designed and made can be applied in relation to the pot. The pot has been well designed and fits the human tissue and device well, with neither of these elements moving when the pot is tipped. However the back plate is slightly too small for the pot, which means that the crafting of the pot was not perfect. Overall, the specimen does not have a high degree of artistic or aesthetic significance, however it could be considered to have moderate value with regard to the design and manufacture of the pot. [should we add about feminist art? Like see appendix if we don’t have space?] Social or spiritual There is no established spiritual value attached to this specimen. It could be considered to be of social value to the academic community at UCL, particularly within the medical departments, as other materials from the same collection at the Soho are actively used in teaching. Although this specimen in particular has not been used in this way since entering the UCL collection, it would have been used this way in the past and theoretically would hold the same value and would be used in the same way (the barrier to this currently is the location of the …show more content…
However, through the course of this report, more information has been uncovered; research of archive records has uncovered the chain of ownership for the specimen, which has been corroborated through oral history records (see Appendix 1). These records have also provided more information about the creation of the specimen. With these additional records now available and directly connected to the specimen, the authors anticipate that this will improve its level of significance within the