M0012901: Fafafafine, a coiled dressing from Vaitupu, Tuvalu

Previous title, replaced January 2022: Diaper (Fafafafine), plaited straw, Vaitupu, Ellice Islands

Photograph of a coiled dressing known as Fafafafine from Vaitupu, Tuvalu. The dressing is made from plaited straw and was acquired by the Wellcome Historical Medical Museum (R6174/1937) from Dr. Donald Gilbert Kennedy, a British Colonial service administrator based in Tuvalu, then known as the Ellice Islands. The item is now held by the Science Museum (A96754).

April 1953

1 photograph glass plate negative; 8.3 x 10.8 cm

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.