
Surgical suture sampler, circa 18th cen.
Zurich Medical History Museum
Photo from Ickybitty's photostream
. . . unless your grandma was a trauma surgeon. This antique sampler from the Medical History Museum in Zurich represents a variety of stitch techniques appropriate for different anatomical regions and types of injury. Both the embroidery and the illustrated backing are rendered in remarkable detail:

bioephemera is art + biology - anything and everything from representations of science in art and literature to the neuroscience of aesthetics. Along with lots of other stuff that's just plain interesting.


Comments
That is just stunning. I'm cheering Ickybitty for taking the picture so I could see it and cursing him/her for not taking detail shots of everything.
Posted by: Stephanie Z | August 27, 2008 8:37 PM
Wow, that's gorgeous. I've been wanting to make a sampler myself...
Posted by: Annie | August 29, 2008 9:55 PM
Oh my God, this is fantastic! It has the feel of a homey sampler, the texture and multimedia of modern collage, and the faint creepiness of an anatomy textbook. Marvelous stuff.
Posted by: Signout | September 1, 2008 2:59 PM
Ohhh, this is facinating! Love the whole idea ~ looks beautiful but makes you turn away... Great find!
Posted by: Ulla | September 4, 2008 12:30 PM
Stephanie - the original photo on flickr is pretty big - you can probably scroll around on it and see most of what you want. The detail is pretty darn incredible - I have no idea why this treasure isn't more widely known. (I happened upon it totally by chance while researching another post.)
Posted by: Jessica Palmer | September 5, 2008 12:53 PM
I did do some of that, but I'm greedy. I want to see the illustrations better. I do know a FOAF who's headed back to Geneva about now, though. Maybe I can interest her in a short trip with a camera. I'll let you know if that works out.
Posted by: Stephanie Z | September 5, 2008 1:07 PM
Great idea, Stephanie! I was just about to suggest that one of us go to Zurich in person to take more photos. . . I mean, it's for Science, right? (and/or Art). Darn it, I wish I could. . .
Posted by: Jessica Palmer | September 5, 2008 1:23 PM
Yeah, me too. Not this year.
If I have to choose between science and art, I usually pick art. Not that science isn't important. Art just generally has fewer people standing up to say it's important. Something about all the intangibles, I suppose.
Posted by: Stephanie Z | September 5, 2008 4:39 PM