Traveling within the World
Odd Devices of Old
A place to display devices/utensils/tools/weapons of war and torture used through the ages.
above : Wooden acupuncture model, Asia, 1601-1700
In traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture aims to improve the flow of qi (chi) or energy in the body by applying needles to specific points on the skin.
Tradition teaches that qi must flow freely through the body's meridians, or channels, to ensure health and well-being. The male figure made of wood shows where needles should be applied to the skin and the meridians through which qi flows.
The Iron Maiden
The iron maiden, often styled after the Madonna or a favorite daughter, was more an instrument of execution than torture. The device either enclosed the victim within, as the one below, or embraced with the victim with her arms. In either case, the point was to skewer the victim.
In the version above, the floor inside opened up to drop the victim into a rack of knives for disposal after he expired within the maiden.
Dept of PMM Artists & things
The Iron Maiden was introduced in Germany. Even though it is commonly believed that it was used in the Middle Ages, the truth is that it was invented a few centuries later. Very few people had the misfortune of experiencing what it feels like to be trapped in this sarcophagus.
Normally, the big door would be shut slowly; the tips crushing a person in agonizing pain. There was a tube in the bottom that made the victim see his own blood as it poured out of his body. The few people that did make it to this device, lasted more than 2 days before death finally struck them.
Feb 3, 2011