Gorgeous Spider Silk Textile Now on Display

2009_9_spiderthread.jpg

This rare piece of textile on display (starting today) at the American Museum of Natural History was made by one million wild Golden Orb spiders from Madagascar (they can grow up to the size of a human hand)! At least, they produced the silk for it. Nothing quite like spider silk to keep you warm in the winter—Snuggie should get on that.

Some facts: It measures 11 feet by 4 feet and took four years to make using a painstaking technique developed more than 100 years ago. "This unique textile draws on the legacy of a French missionary, Jacob Paul Camboué, who worked with spiders in Madagascar in the 1880s and 1890s. Previously, the only known spider-silk textile of note was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, and it was subsequently lost."

Email This Entry


Comments (4) [rss]

If I understand correctly, that cloth is stronger than kevlar and thoroughly bulletproof.

And that amazing gold color is natural. No dyeing. Beautiful.
And jibbly: I'm gonna use my 300 fun bucks to buy coffee.

Post a comment (Comment Policy)

Tips

Get your daily dose of New York first thing in the morning from our weekday newsletter, now in beta.

About Gothamist

Gothamist is a website about New York. More

Editor: Jen Chung
Publisher: Jake Dobkin

Newsmap

newsmap.jpg

Contribute

Latest Tip:

The NYC DoH warned a pizzeria not to serve reheated slices from the display case. Every pizzeria tha
[more]

Latest Photo:

Subscribe

Use an RSS reader to stay up to date with the latest news and posts from Gothamist.

All Our RSS