A French tubular vaginal speculum in boxwood with its central obturator also made entirely from wood.

The purpose of the completely enclosed speculum was to protect the vagina from damage during instrumentation. This type of speculum was also used to introduce leeches to the cervix.  In the first half of the 19th century France used 100 million leeches and despite leech farming in Germany and France they were nearly made extinct and had to be imported from North America and Russia.

• From the Phisick collection