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The Wellcome Collection is a small, eclectic, imaginative, humane, humorous exhibition of objects related, sometimes in the loosest sense, to medicine. It is WONDERFUL.

Henry Wellcome was a turn-of-the century collector of objects related to medicine. His interests were broad and this new exhibition space presents highlights of his collection in a way that is humane, humorous, and informative. Although small and relatively unspectacular, it is imaginative and interesting and very definitely worth a visit.

The Wellcome Collection is divided into two broad sections – a permanent exhibition of Wellcome’s collection of artefacts, and temporary exhibitions of matters medical. Both exhibitions cleverly mix scientific and artistic displays. On the day I visited, the temporary exhibition was devoted to “the heart”, with an array of real hearts in aspic (including a recently-acquired human heart) and a no-holds-barred film of a heart operation in amongst love poetry and Valentines cards.

The permanent collection of “medical” artefacts really caught my interest. The first exhibit you come across is of three similarly-sized chairs in a row – a seventeenth-century Chinese “torture chair” (with blades where cushions might be), a nineteenth century birthing chair, and a nineteenth century dentist’s chair. Excellent.

The body of the permanent collection is based on large thematic display cases – “seeking help”, “end of life”, “understanding the body” …. . These cases contain an incredibly diverse range of objects – I particularly liked the winged and top-hatted figure to ward off malevolent spirits from the Nicabar Islands, the good-luck anulets from the First World War (saints for the Russians, a shell and a jewel for the Japanese, a black cat and the king for the British), and a surprisingly-tiny shrunken human head from Papua New Guinea. There is also a quirky collection of paintings with a medical theme (including a copy of a Russian icon).

While the Wellcome Collection does not have the heavy-hitting stars of the British Museum (just down the road) it is well-annotated and organised, has plenty of stools and space, and has a pleasant café and bookstore attached. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is accessible and interesting and definitely worth a visit.