Antique silver surgical Urethral Sound with proximal curve and chequered ebony handle.

A rare example of Barne’s Uterine Sound with deep notches from 1.5 to 7.5 inches and 3 knobs at uneven intervals along it's rigid shaft, smooth ebony and cross-hatched handle and dating from the mid 19th century. The shaft is not hallmarked but tests for silver.

“The value of the uterine sound cannot be over-estimated when used merely for purposes of diagnosis, whatever may be said of it as a redressor.  If we are not able to determine the position, size and relations of the uterus by touch alone, the sound is infallible in giving us its depth and direction…For this purpose I have made it of virgin silver or of annealed copper, silvered.”  Marion Sims - Uterine Surgery - 1858.

Items such as this are becoming increasingly rare as they were made in very small numbers to the highest quality standards as price was not the primary concern, most good examples are now in museum and private collections.

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