Modelli in ceroplastica di Anfibi e Rettili nelle collezioni di Kosmos – Museo di Storia Naturale dell’Università di Pavia

Wax models of Amphibians and Reptiles in the Kosmos collections – Natural History Museum of the University of Pavia. Waxworking is a technique used since ancient times to create wax models but only since the 17th century was adopted for scientific purposes and in particular for anatomical studies. During the 19th century, zoological and botanical wax models were quite common in the collections of museums and universities for educational purposes. Kosmos holds 80 waxworks from the former Museum of Comparative Anatomy and Physiology. The oldest specimens are three frog heart models and a series of snake heads, created by Angelo Maestri (1806-1889). More recent preparations were made by Achille Maestri including the development models of amphibians and sauropsida. Finally, there are 35 models purchased from Studio Ziegler company of Friborg which represent the entire development of an anuran amphibian and the formation of the primordial skull in Rana temporaria, Ambystoma mexicanum and Lacerta agilis