There have been many lovely combs on the American, British, and French E-bay sites. However, some dealers misidentify their comb’s country of origin. Here are two examples. Please see item #130476761205.
The hairpin is stunning, condition excellent, no arguments that it would be a wonderful piece for any collection. There’s only one problem. It’s a Chinese gold-filigree ornament from the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). According to research from the Creative Museum, “During the Qing Dynasty, many jewels were made of gold-wire filigree. (See book “Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series” published by Beijing Publishing House, page 221 – ISBN: 7-200-04899-2)” Here is a picture of their Qing hairpin:
The second misidentified comb did not sell. Please see item #160568156596.
Another lovely piece, but again, it’s not Japanese. It’s from the Punjab Region of Pakistan. The Creative Museum has a gorgeous one with beads, pearls, wood indentations, and a fish theme.
This kanzashi IS Japanese. It’s gorgeous. Please refer to item #280637283941. It’s going for $725, but the seller is accepting offers.
There are a couple of problems that lead people on eBay to mis-identify their pieces.
The first is that they see “Oriental Style” and immediately jump to “Japanese.” I’m not an expert on the Oriental hair ornaments, but even I knew that dragon above was not Japanese.
However, I’ve become so distrusting I figured the Chinese was “Hong Kong” or “Taiwan”….:o(
The second problem with eBay identification problems is the “help” eBay offers. They steer sellers who are unfamiliar with their items into a “how much is your item worth” netherworld.
The seller entered his eBay I.D. with a mass-produced plastic comb and leaves his new listing as the comb the Moon Goddess wore when helping create the World, worth $100-gazillion BIN!
The guy’s looking at yachts and Lamboughinis when it hits him that nobody’s looking at that comb!
Not his fault – eBay showed him a bunch of combs “like his” and what they sold for, so this is what his is worth. There are stupid people everywhere, maybe he will get that yacht from that comb – never know!
eBay is a wonderland of drek at the moment; a dangerous place for people who aren’t really careful and do their homework. Hmm, sort of sounds like the worldwide situation a bit, doesn’t it?
The kanzashi is gorgeous – you’re not going to “jump?!”
Jumping costs nothing, so yes, I can jump. :-) Oh! I didn’t know about the “ebay help” oxymoron. I have been in many virtual netherworlds, and I like the absence of vulgarity in my life, so I think I’ll pass on this one. :-)
So he’s looking at lamborghini’s? Well, they cost a little more than $1350. The Moon Goddess? I don’t have the mental energy. I’d buy the Chinese Qing hairpin AND the kanzashi. I think they are both stunning. I never thought the dealers did this intentionally. Quite the opposite. Now that you’re telling me about “ebay help,” then the responsibility for knowledge is on the customer.
You are right. It’s a whole area of study to tell a real Chinese antique from a reproduction.
I’ll agree with Peggy on the “Oriental=Japanese” viewpoint for some folks. (As a big fan of anime, I’ve also seen the “Oriental=Chinese” thing too.)
I’ll admit that I didn’t look at the seller’s “other items”. My first thought on seeing misidentified items is that maybe this is something the seller inherited and often it’s hard to know the value/history/ID of what you have inherited. (This is where you really have to do your research if you want to sell or insure family heirlooms.)
I had not heard of that “help” from eBay function. I’m so tempted to play with that.
I loved seeing all three of those hair ornaments. I love that Japanese one best, I think it’s worth every penny. (Unfortunately, I don’t have that many pennies!)
I know. I’d buy that kanzashi in 5 seconds if I could, too. :-) Welcome to the comment section of the blog! Best…