120 Years in 120 Objects
Join the KwaZulu-Natal Museum in celebrating the museumโs 120th year of orbiting the sun. Staff and guest curators have chosen one object or item per year of our existence to highlight to the public. Visit the website and our social media platforms regularly to see the latest object and keep an eye out for information about a physical exhibition later this year!
Todayโs Object is from 1932
The Two-Headed Cow by Heather Frost, Senior Exhibitions Officer
Dr E. Warren, director of the Natal Museum until 1931, was concurrently Professor of Zoology at Natal University College. During these years, he lectured to zoology students in the museum, and the exhibits, particularly those in the anatomical gallery, were used for practical demonstrations. The โAnatomical Galleryโ became the โStudent Galleryโ and is still used today by the education staff of the Museum.
The gallery starts with a museum display of the items a museum would have displayed in the early 1900s. Displays are arranged, one after the other, on shelves, and โcuriositiesโ such as the double-headed embryo of the cow are on offer to visitors.
I am an identical twin and the occurrence of conjoined twins or animals is fascinating to me. The public also find these unusual specimens interesting and they often tend to โstickโ in the memory of visitors.
This specimen of a double-headed embryo of a cow is currently on display in the Student Gallery.
