They've got Beethoven's skull, or at least part of it, at San Jose State.
****
First, Beethoven's hair shows up in San Jose. And now, his skull.
It's true. Fragments that appear to come from the great composer's skull have surfaced in the home of a Danville businessman and will be on indefinite loan to the Center for Beethoven Studies at San Jose State University.
For millions moved by Beethoven's music, it is not just an amazing event -- something like the bones of an apostle showing up after centuries. It also opens a new window into Beethoven's legendary medical problems, which helped shape his mind and music.
The center, which already owns a celebrated strand of Beethoven's hair, is to make the announcement today after coordinating six years of forensic tests, which seem to corroborate the authenticity of the bones.
``I am in awe,'' said Paul Kaufmann, a Danville businessman. His great-great-uncle, a Viennese doctor named Romeo Seligmann, secretly was given two large fragments and 11 smaller ones when the composer's remains were exhumed in 1863. (Beethoven died in Vienna in 1827.) Kaufmann said the bones will be loaned to the center ``in perpetuity.''
Starting today, they will be locked in a vault and made available for scientific research. The public will see them only in a still-to-be scheduled exhibit that will tell the story behind the bones and their scientific analysis...
****
This image in the newspaper of Beethoven's skull took my breath away:
sfgate article