Humerus Bone Pendant

The human upper arm bone. The sculptural aesthetics of this form has fascinated humanity for ages. Andreas Vesalius (1514 – 64) chose to pose with the exposed human upper arm for his portrait in now famous book De humani corporis fabrica libri septem ("On the fabric of the human body in seven volumes") published in 1543. Vesalius is often referred to as the founder of modern human anatomy.

Andreas Vesalius is the Latinized form of the Dutch Andries van Wesel, a common practice among European scholars in his time. He was born in Brussels, which though now part of Belgium, was then part of the Habsburg Netherlands. He was professor at the University of Padua and later became Imperial physician at the court of Emperor Charles V. [chain not included]