MEDICAL IMPLEMENT

Finely moulded copper-alloy nose with two pointed-oval nostril slits at the base and a flattened rim around the top and sides. There are broken circular attachment holes at the top and at the centre of each side and a groove, which appears to be caused by wear, across the top. In plan it appears slightly curved, with the sides projecting back slightly more than the middle. The reverse is hollow and well finished. It is 45.3mm long, 36.9mm wide and 23.7mm deep, and weighs 37.94g.

Photographs of the nose have been examined by curators at the Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, who do not feel it belongs to armour; armour is mostly made of iron, for strength reasons. They suggested it may have come from a statue. Other experts who have examined it have disputed this interpretation, as the nostril slits and attachment holes are not usual on sculpture, although the fine moulding would be suitable for this source.

It has been suggested that the object is a prosthetic nose, worn to replace one that had been lost due to accident or illness; syphilis can lead to loss of the nose and was common in the post-medieval period. Similar prosthetic noses, of copper as well as beaten silver and gold, are known from documentary sources, most famously worn by Tycho Brahe, the Danish astronomer (1546-1601) who lost his nose in a duel. Although Tycho Brahe was said to wear a silver nose, when his grave was excavated in 1901 copper staining was found on the skull and it was suggested he had an 'everyday' nose of copper as well as the silver example.

There are prosthetic noses in the Hunterian Museum (RCSIC/R 6 - silver and painted, with attached glasses for fixing it to the face) and the Science Museum (one in ivory and one in silver). The Beddingham nose is not identical to any of these examples, but curators from both museums have examined photos and feel that it is likely to also be a prosthetic. A very similar example was published in Ambrose Pare's Oeuvres, a 16th century collection of writings on medicine and surgery (kindly pointed out by Sarah Pearson, Curator at The Hunterian Museum). It seems likely that the Beddingham nose dates from the post-medieval period, perhaps 16th or 17th century.