M0014531: A tsantsa, or shrunken head, Jivaroan, Ecuador

Previous title, replaced January 2022: A shrunken head, Jivaro Indian, Ecuador, S.America

A tsantsa, also known as a shrunken head, with long hair, threads from lips and feather pendants in the ears. Created by the Jivaroan people based in northern Peru and eastern Ecuador. The item was purchased at auction by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum in 1925 and accessioned in 1926 (accession number R26183 and later R8345/1936). It is now held by the Science Museum (A36674). Related images: M0014532

February 1956

1 photograph glass plate negative; 10.2 x 12.7 cm

Wellcome Collection holds the accession registers which provide entries for the item: acc. number R26183 and acc. number R8345/1936

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.

This item has been digitised but is not available online. Email collections@wellcomecollection.org to request access.