The phrenological collection of Gama Machado in the Science Museum, University of Coimbra From private foundation to university collection

Jose Joaquim da Gama Machado was a devotee of the doctrine of phrenology. The theory, formulated by the physician Franz Gall c.1792-93, postulated a biological basis for human behaviour, locating the different mental faculties within the cerebral cortex. Machado was among the founders of the Phrenological Society of Paris. In order to conduct his investigations, he gathered an extensive collection of plaster casts moulded from heads, which he bequeathed to the University of Coimbra in 1861. After more than a century and a half, we investigate what is known about its founder, the man and the collector; the historical and scientific context in which the collection originated; and the paths it travelled within the university. In tracing the life of the collection, we identify also the fortuitous and idiosyncratic nature of its long journey from its formation to the present day.