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This artefact displays a mentally ill patient restrained to his bed by wrist cuffs and a restricting waist belt. Typically these items were used in lunatic asylums throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth century in order to keep the mentally ill ‘controlled’. The restraints were generally made out of harsh leather to ensure they could not be easily broken or released and were often strapped to a bed or wall within the asylum. The purpose of the restraints was to forbid any movement of the mental patient to ensure they do not harm themselves or anyone else. Generally the patient would wear both wrist and ankle restraints, as well as a tight belt across the waist. (Edwards, A. 2001)