Category Archives: Tattoo Iconography

The Tattoo Collectors: Geoff Ostling

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Dr. Gemma Angel

As a researcher who specialises in the preservation of tattooed human skin, I have encountered some extraordinary things stored away in archives, museums and private collections in the course of my work. But I don’t just work with the dead … Continue reading →

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Magic, Sex & Superstition: The Winged Phallus Tattoo

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

In January 2010, just 3 months into my PhD, I went to Paris on the first of what would be many research trips. Whilst there, I visited the anthropology department of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle (MNHN) with my supervisors … Continue reading →

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From the Storage Archives: “Mort Aux Vaches!”

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

Science Museum Object Number A544: Preserved human skin, tattooed with a series of patterned dots and crosses; initials and lettering in French; two hearts, including one pierced by arrows; and the head and torso of a man. Dimensions: h353mm x … Continue reading →

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From the Storage Archives: The Wounded Tattoo

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

Science Museum Object Number A544: Preserved human skin, tattooed with a series of patterned dots and crosses; initials and lettering in French; two hearts, including one pierced by arrows; and the head and torso of a man. Dimensions: A544 h353 … Continue reading →

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From the Storage Archives: The Unseen Sailors’ Tattoo

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

Science Museum Object Number A747 & A754: Preserved human skins, tattooed with a pair of eyes. Dimensions: A747 h137 x w88mm x d1.5mm; A754 h144mm x w86mm x d2mm* *Depth measurements are given at their thickest points. Date: c.1830-1900 Of … Continue reading →

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From the Storage Archives: A Dagger Through the Heart

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

Science Museum Object Number A670: Preserved human skin, showing the tattooed image of a dagger piercing the skin of the chest. Dimensions: h258mm x w123mm x d0.4mm Date: c.1850-1920 The image above shows an example of the iconic dagger-through-the-heart tattoo. … Continue reading →

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The Flesh Remembers: Memento Mori Tattoos

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Dr. Gemma Angel

All photographs are memento mori. To take a photograph is to participate in another person’s (or thing’s) mortality, vulnerability, mutability. Precisely by slicing out this moment and freezing it, all photographs testify to time’s relentless melt. – Susan Sontag The … Continue reading →

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