This article discusses the (re)construction and use of an Early modern instrument, better known as Herman Boerhaave's (1668–1738) little furnace. We investigate the origins, history and materiality of this furnace, and examine the dynamic relationship between historical study and reconstructing and handling an object. We argue that combining textual analysis with performative methods allows us to gain a better understanding of both the role of lost material culture in historical chemical practice, pedagogy, and knowledge production, and provide a deeper understanding of the embodied experiences and knowledge of historical actors. Having made and used two versions of Boerhaave's furnace, we provide insight in what present‐day working models can tell us about historical materials and practices approximately three centuries ago.
Although the historical connections between anatomy and the visual arts have been explored in quite some depth, especially in the cases of early modern anatomical drawing, sculpting, the making of wet preparations and wax modelling, the role of artistic techniques in the creation of corrosive preparations has received little attention thus far. This is remarkable, as there appear to be significant similarities between casting techniques like those employed by the influential artist Wenzel Jamnitzer (1508–85) and anatomical corrosive techniques. This paper explores the connections between the two domains and argues that, although artistic and anatomical techniques were often very similar in terms of the materials used, the skills that had to be developed to apply them successfully, and the visual results, there were distinct materialities and techniques in each realm. It is demonstrated that the creation of corrosion casts, particularly wax-based casts, required particular skills that were unlike others in the period. The paper does so by analysing the material and technical qualities of corrosive preparations from the period 1700–1900, and by comparing the results of this analysis with written instructions for making corrosive preparations and making casts from the same period in both anatomical and artist handbooks.
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