M0014168: Hood made of spider web, Vanuatu

Previous title, replaced January 2022: Smothering Hood made of spiders' webs. New Hebrides. Used to kill widow after her husband's death

A hood made of spider web cloth acquired from the New Hebrides (modern day Vanuatu). It was purchased at auction by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1928 and accessioned in 1936 (accession number R7172/1936). It is not held by Wellcome Collection. When it was acquired by the Museum it was believed to be a "smothering hood" used to kill a widow after her husband's death, though more recent scholarship casts doubt on this usage. An alternative explanation is that it was worn by members of a male secret society.

August 1955

1 photograph glass plate negative; 10.2 x 12.7 cm

Wellcome Collection holds the accession register which provides an entry for the item: acc. number R7172/1936 (image 158)

Copyright held by Wellcome Collection

Catalogue data comes from a combination of entries in the original glass plate registers, metadata created when the glass plates were digitised in the early 2000s and enhancements made by the cataloguer in 2022.

Please consult the digitised version as this item is fragile. Email library@wellcomecollection.org to request access to the physical item.