Monthly Archives: October 2011

Sotheby’s: Indian Mughal Comb

This ivory comb was made in North India, as the Mughal Empire reached the height of power in the 17th and 18th Centuries. The dynasty was founded in 1526 by Persian Sunni Muslims of Turkish-Mongol descent, hence the name, Mughal. The empire included Iran, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, and North India, among other lands. Condition: Perfect. Sale price: 15,000 GBP on May 31, 2011.

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The Mughal Empire (The New Cambridge History of India)

Creative Museum Triumphs at Le Musée d’Angoulême

Today, The Creative Museum walked in the front door of Le Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angoulême, France.

Thirty combs from the family, who devoted 30 years to comb scholarship, were combined with headdresses from the Antoine de Galbert collection. The exhibition was called EN TÊTE À TÊTE.

It divided combs and headdresses to show four cultural themes: birth and initiation, marriage, social status, and death.

The Creative Museum made a film tour of the exhibition. Look at how many people came to learn.

The galleries were packed.

Thank you, Alain, Catherine, and Joel for making a “dent in the universe” and bringing hair combs to the environment in which they belong.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

The catalog from this exhibition, which will be available in the museum shop soon. Or, you can contact the museum and request a copy.

Ebay: Whale Bone Maori Heru Comb

On Oct. 9, 2011, a dealer on E-bay listed this comb and described it as “Old African? Large “oxbone” comb; elegant!” The starting price was $9.95. He made himself look like an idiot beyond comprehension. Everyone who bid thought it was an old Māori whale-bone Heru comb. It ended up selling for $2576.00

However, the comb was dubious. The carving was not correct. The material had no grain. Whale bone has grain. Sperm-whale bone also has some grain.  Although I did not record the exact measurements, the comb’s size indicated that it could have only come from the ivory tooth of an elephant. A whale tooth couldn’t possibly have been that big.

Here is the front and the back of this fake comb.

The back showed that the coloration of the sides was not congruent with the potential age it was supposed to be. The spikes were too uneven. Also, it did not have a single nick on the edge.

Here is a real one: the front and back of a 19th Century whale-bone Heru comb from North Island, New Zealand, which is in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand. It is 65 mm wide and 165mm long. The carver is unknown.

This is a picture of how it was worn by a warrior. The picture also comes from the Museum of New Zealand. In Māori culture, men wore their hair long with a top knot. The Heru was inserted behind the top knot. These combs only decorated the heads of top-ranking men. They were a symbol of mana, or status and prestige.

There is a Māori myth surrounding Heru combs. In 1200, Rua-tupu, the second son of Chief Uenuku, wore a Heru without permission. These combs could only be worn by the elder sons. His father belittled him. To get revenge, Rua-tupu took children of tribal noblemen into his canoe, traveled far into the ocean, and sank the boat. It is an incident in Maori history called “Te huri-pure-i-ata.” His older brother, Kahutia-te-rangi survived with the help of a whale, and his name changed to Paikea, or whale rider. The myth says Paikea had the help of the goddess Moa-kura-manu.

Heru combs like these depict Kahutia-te-rangi, or Paikea (the small carving on the left) riding the whale.

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With thanks to Mark Blackburn, Pierre Loos, Hugues Bienaymé, Charles Moreau, David Norden, Maureen Zarember, Jyrki Lammi, Guy Vdp, and Kajetan Fiedorowicz.

For more scholarly research, please examine

Te Ika a Maui: Or, New Zealand and Its Inhabitants. Illustrating the Orgin, Manners, Customs, Mythology, Religion … of the Maori and Polynesian … Productions, and Climate of the Country

Jen Cruse: Art Nouveau Horn Combs

By Jen Cruse:

The Art Nouveau period was a turning point in design principals where imagination and free-flowing creativity were of the essence. The emphasis was on a return to hand craftsmanship and away from increasing industrialization. In Europe between c. 1895 and 1910, a revival in the use of horn was led by René Lalique, Lucien Gaillard and their contemporaries.

Clarified horn bleached with hydrogen peroxide, sometimes frosted, was their favoured material. These innovative artists created some of the most imaginative and naturalistic designs ever seen, and their influence spread around Europe to other like-minded artists. Hair combs and pins especially gained enormous recognition owing to their supreme quality and are much sought after by collectors today. The Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon, Portugal, has a most impressive collection of Lalique’s work, including a great number of his combs.

The 2 bleached horn combs featured in the photograph display tinted openwork with daisy flowers and a dragonfly. They are carved in the style of the Parisian Art Nouveau artist/designers. Although unsigned, they have been attributed to Mme E Bonté working in the early 1900s.

Horn Combs of Elizabeth Bonté. Ht 3½in/8.9cm to 4in/10.2cm.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

The Comb: Its History and Development, by Jen Cruse

Ebay: Empire Comb Prices

After the big September 23rd auction, there have been three French combs, c.1790 – 1850, which went for varying prices. The one that sold for $315 was a steal because the photograph did not show its complexity, nor my instinct that there were pearls dangling from the gilt circles decorated with lapis flowers. Here is the record of what sold, when, and for how much:

Coral Empire comb. Superb Condition. Sold: $1045.51, Oct. 5, 2011. Ebay France.

French Tiara comb with pearls and lapis jewels surrounded by seed pearls, c. 1800, Sold: $616.58, Oct. 5, 2011, Ebay France.

French Empire comb, lapis enamel flowers on gilded silver with dangling pearls, excellent condition, Sold: $315, Oct. 6, 2011, Ebay.com

Ebay: David Andersen, Norwegian Jeweler

The plique-a-jour enamel top looks like a Tiffany stained glass window. It was made by Norwegian jeweler Arthur Andersen, c. 1924 – 1939. His father, David Andersen, started a gold- and silversmithing company in Christiania, now Oslo, in 1876. Arthur took over the company in 1901, when his father died, and put a hyphen in the name: David-Andersen. He also introduced plique-a-jour enameled silver pieces with amazing success.

This is a superb hair pin: magnificent technique, beautifully designed and proportioned, and brilliantly colored when backlit. The dealer is selling it for 1600 Euros on Ebay Germany.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

Collectible Silver Jewelry by Fred Rezazadeh

Ebay: Art Deco Bird Comb

It’s on E-bay for $229 or best offer. I’m not recommending anyone buy it at that price, or at all, but I love this comb, c. 1930. I think it has humor, pizzazz, and is an excellent example of American celluloid art.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

The Creative Museum’s virtual exhibition on American brilliant combs.

Museum Combs: Egypt, New Zealand, India, and Germany

I would like to feature four museum combs today. The first comes from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. It belonged to the King Wadj, whose name means serpent. His tomb was found near the ancient city of Abydos. He was the third King of the First Egyptian Dynasty and ruled c. 2920 BC. In the comb’s carvings, you can see two serpents.

Our next work was made by Maori master Patoromu Tamatea. This bone Heru comb resides in New Zealand’s Museum of Wellington’s City & Sea under the collector’s, instead of the artist’s name.

Next are two marvelously shaped combs from the Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum in South India. Both were made from the 18th to 19th Centuries.

And last is a breathtaking liturgical comb, which belonged to Saint Heribert (970 – 1021). He was Archbishop of Cologne (Köln) and considered a saint in his lifetime. Pope Gregory VII canonized him c. 1074. This crucifixion comb is one of the prizes in Köln’s Schnütgen Museum and was made in the second half of the 9th Century.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

Pharaohs Of The First Dynasty Of Egypt, including: Menes, Narmer, Qa’a, Djer, Hor-aha, Djet, Den (pharaoh), Merneith, Anedjib, Semerkhet, Ancient Egyptian Boats (first Dynasty) – Abydos

Carved Histories: Rotorua Ngati Tarawhai Carving

Pune Culture, including: Kasba Ganapati, Sawai Gandharva Music Festival, Raja Dinkar Kelkar Museum, Culture Of Pune, Sudarshan Rangmanch, Dagadusheth Halwai Ganapati Temple, Baajaa Gaajaa

Fragmented Devotion: Medieval Objects from the Schnutgen Museum in Cologne