World’s Largest Woven Spider Silk Cape

This resplendent 13 foot long cape was made from the silk of more than a million female Golden Orb spiders collected from the highlands of Madagascar has been unveiled at the Victoria & Albert (V&A) Museum in London. The hand-woven brocaded textile, which is on display at the museum till June 5, 2012, is naturally golden in color and took over four years to create.

It will be shown together with a new golden cape, currently being woven and embroidered in Madagascar, which will go on public display for the very first time at the V&A. The clothes have reportedly been made by Englishman Simon Peers, who lives in Madagascar, and American Nicholas Godley, and are the only large textiles in the world to have been made from spider silk.

It takes about 23,000 spiders to produce 1 ounce of silk

More information at www.vam.ac.uk & www.godleypeers.com




EXPLORE DEEPER