Human skin tattooed with figures of bare-legged women, French, 1880-1920, purchased from La Valette in 1929
Tattooed with the images of two women with bare legs and arms, this piece of human skin was purchased by one of Henry Wellcome’s collecting agents, Captain Johnston-Saint, in June 1929 from Dr Villette, a Parisian surgeon. Villette worked in military hospitals and collected and preserved hundreds of samples from the autopsies of French soldiers. In the late 1800s, tattoos were often seen as markers of criminal tendencies, or ‘primitiveness’. Medical men tried to interpret common images and symbols. Tattoos were also used as a tool for identification, a practice that continues today.
Details
- Category:
- Anatomy & Pathology
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A553
- Materials:
- skin, human
- Measurements:
-
overall: 592 mm x 232 mm x 42 mm, 2 kg
- type:
- human remains and tattoo
- credit:
- Wellcome Trust
