Author Archives: BarbaraAnne

Samburu Jewelry, Rebecca Lolosoli, and Half the Sky

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In the Samburu district of Kenya, near Archers Post, lies a village of women’s dignity – Umoja. It is a refuge for victims of domestic violence.

Normally pastoral cattle herders, Samburu matriarch Rebecca Lolosoli has started a business to make the complex beaded necklaces and headdresses for which the tribe is known. The Samburu knit with small, brightly colored beads, weaving complex patterns and ideas in layers. Round silver coin-like beads are attached to the headdresses, as are larger center ornaments. Ms. Lolosoli’s jewelry showcases the highest level of skill.

With jewelry, she and her village are fighting for the right to be untouched by violence. Umoja is part of Nicholas Kristof’s Half the Sky Movement. A woman has a right to an education; own a business; make decisions; and not be raped, shot, or promised into marriage as a child. Ms. Lolosoli also fights female circumcision. Instead of growing older with eyes that have seen untold horrors, in Umoja, a young woman can glow with pride.

कंघी

For more on Umoja and Half the Sky, please examine Umoja Women and


Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Jen Cruse: Exhibition for the Creative Museum

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In an “Around the World in 80 Comb” exhibition, author Jen Cruse shares her collection with the Creative Museum. Her presentation enunciates the stunning diversity of comb design across the world and across time.

My favorite is this Chinese ivory comb, which depicts Shou Xing, the Chinese God of Longevity. He is part of the Taoist concept of Fu Lu Shou. Taoism dates back to the the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644), when the Han Chinese ended Genghis Khan’s Mongolian rule.

With a high bald head, Shou Xing smiles gently as he carries a branch with peaches of immortality from the garden of Xi Wang Mu. His small helper looks on. The comb is curved because it is made from the top of an elephant tusk.

The peaches are visible on the back of the comb.

Other combs in the collection include this black Bonaz with gold plum flowers,

this celluloid Art Deco American comb with gold paint, whose blue is the same color as a Tiffany & Co. shopping bag,

and a seed-pearl aigrette.

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For more scholarly research, please examine the publications of the Creative Museum and Jen’s book


The Comb: Its History and Development

Leopards and Gazelles in a Qajar Comb

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The Qajars were a Persian royal family of Hazar Turkic origin (named after the Hazar Sea), whose dynasty began with Agha Muḥammad Khān Qājār in 1794 and ended with Sultan Ahmad Shah Qajar in 1925. Agha Muhammad brought peace, which allowed unique style of Persian painting and portraiture to develop and flourish.

A main theme of Qajar art was the garden scene, which was inherited from the Safavid Dynasty.


Double Finispiece From The Diwan Of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, 1582 CE

Persian leopards were the hunting trophies of kings. Rulers ascended to the peacock throne. There were also eagles, serins, gazelles, rabbits, and rams. Gardens had wider connections to spirituality and mysticism. Sadly, today, the Persian leopard has been hunted almost to extinction.


Double Finispiece From The Diwan Of Sultan Ibrahim Mirza, 1582 CE

Recently, a group of wooden, painted Qajar H combs, c. 1920, sold on E-Bay. I was particularly interested in this one because of the rural garden scene. On one side, a Persian leopard bites a male gazelle, while the female looks on.

On the other side, an eagle eats a serin with a fish in its mouth. Predators and prey depicting the circle of life, portrayed in a circle. A ram looks on, while rabbits and ducks dot the edges.

Sale price: $978.

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For more scholarly research, please examine


Woven from the Soul, Spun from the Heart: Textile Arts of Safavid and Qajar Iran, 16Th-19th Centuries
Royal Persian Paintings : The Qajar Epoch 1785-1925
Wall Paintings And Other Figurative Mural Art in Qajar Iran

Glass Hair Combs of Edo Era Japan

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In the Genroki period (1688-1704) of the Edo Era (1688-1867), men would visit bath houses. Bath women, or yuna, would wash, comb, set men’s hair, and offer sexual favors. Because it took two hands to style a man’s top knot, yuna put their utilitarian combs casually in their hair. The trend caught the attention of married and unmarried women from all social classes, and combs changed from a tool to an ornament.

Makers used ivory, buffalo horn, lacquered wood, coral, and tortoiseshell, which was by far the most expensive material. Seamen painted combs, too. They chose glass because grime could be wiped off, and glass preserved the pigments against salt air, which would ruin other materials.

This comb is in the Kobe City Museum in Japan: a tall ship is painted on glass and encased in tortoiseshell.

The museum gives a date of c. 1800.

This date reflects the foreign policy of Tokugawa Iemitsu (1604-1651). The Sakoku Edict of 1635 remained in place until 1854. Sakoku means locked country. No foreigner could enter. No Japanese citizen could leave. It was a reaction to Catholic missionaries having converted 500,000 Japanese people to Christianity by 1600, including some feudal lords. The Shogunate did not trust European intentions and threw them out — with one exception: The Dutch.

An artificial island was made in the Bay of Nagasaki called Dejima. Only Dutch ships were allowed. The Dutch could not cross into Nagasaki, and only Japanese who performed necessary tasks, such as carpenters, cooks, and women of pleasure were allowed in.

In 1790, only one Dutch ship was allowed to come. I am going to make a guess. This comb was painted by a Japanese ship-carpenter in 1790, documenting the arrival of the only Dutch merchant ship to arrive that year. He would have made it for one of the women of pleasure, who entertained the Dutch in Dejima.

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References:
1, 2, 3, 4

The Creative Museum: From Art Nouveau to Art Deco

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Part two of The Creative Museum’s presentation, “From Art Nouveau to Art Deco,” will be appearing on October 22. I am looking forward to it because their scholarship is immaculate.

Here are a few of my favorite Art Deco combs from their collection. They are all by Auguste Bonaz. I think it is interesting to see how his designs developed from 1910 – 1925, especially the two combs in the same shape. In 1910, he did red and black. In 1920, the same shaped comb displays a completely different idea.

1910

1910

1920

1920

1925

For more history and insight, you’ll have to wait for The Creative Museum’s presentation. :-)

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For more scholarly research, please examine the other exhibitions at The Creative Museum.

The Riches of the French Empire

Facing Me, Facing You

EN TÊTE À TÊTE, dedicated to headdresses, the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Angoulême

Hair Ornaments during China’s Warring States Period

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Yesterday, I saw a movie, “The Warring States.” It centers around a conflict between two generals who fight against each other for the Wei and Qi states. The other states in this period (475 to 221 BC) were Han, Zhao, Qin, Chu, and Yan. The Qin state won, and the Qin Dynasty lasted from 221 BC to 206 BC.

My jaw was on the floor from the hair ornaments for both men and women. I wanted to know if the movie’s spectacular costumes matched the historical record, so I did some research.

The jade pendant this actress is wearing on her hair (left) matches dragons (right), which were found in the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng. He died c. 433 BC. Zeng was a minor state, subordinate to Chu. The jade is bluish yellow, decorated with an even-grain pattern. Fine polish is indicative of how jade was worn in the Warring States Period.

The King of the Qi in the movie wears the headdress of the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi, who built the Great Wall and founded the Qin Dynasty. Han emperors also wore it, so that’s not accurate, but it’s ok. What a headdress!

This dragon-shaped piece of jade jewelry was excavated from a Warring States tomb in Lu’an, formerly the State of Lu.

Perhaps it was the model for this phenomenal top-knot jade wedding headdress worn by actress Jing Tian.

In the Warring States Period, many women wore scorpion-tail shaped hairstyles. The movie has some of the most magnificent examples I have ever seen. I have put my favorite one next to a picture in a book on Chinese costume.

I would say the movie is loosely based on history, including “The Art Of War,” by Sun Tzu. However, as a hair-ornament and costume show, it is easy to just sit back, eat popcorn, and imagine yourselves wearing all these things. :-)

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine


The Warring States
Chinese Clothing (Introductions to Chinese Culture)
Chinese Art of the Warring States Period: Change and Continuity, 480-222 B.C.

Alexander de Paris: Nouvelle Collection 2012

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Alexander de Paris has a web store for middle-market women, ie those who cannot jet to New York or Paris, walk into a shop, and buy a one-of-a-kind piece for $4000.

The company’s Autumn/Winter 2012 collection is out. Beehive hair styles are in to support innovative and experimental headbands. Designers are playing with the headband’s geometric shape to make this year’s main idea, Avant Garde.

Here are some examples of headbands you can use to decorate your beehive bun. If you have shorter hair, you can always buy a ponytail wig and put that up. (ooo, does the wig really have to match your hair color, or can you get creative? :-)

Avant Garde headbands have not gone down-market yet. I have seen the big flower on the side of a narrow headband everywhere, but not headbands whose shapes are rolled, separated, or swirled.

Then of course, each collection has its masterpiece. The knockout headband of the web store’s Nouvelle Collection 2012 is

Mellerio dits Meller

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Mellerio dits Meller is the oldest family-owned jewelry company in Europe, spanning 14 generations. In 1515, the first Mr. Mellerio left Italy for Paris because he heard there was opportunity there. His family started the company in 1613.

As Jean-Baptiste Mellerio was vending his wares in front of the Château de Versailles, he attracted the attention of Marie-Antoinette. She became a regular patron in 1777. He created this cameo bracelet for her, which expressed Versailles’ court intrigue, as some cameos face each other to converse, and some don’t. Just before Marie-Antoinette went to the guillotine, she gave the bracelet to a confidante. It survived in tact, and today is kept in a safe.

Empress Josephine also had jewelry made for her by Jean-Baptiste, such as this amethyst parure.

In 1815, the company set up shop on the Rue de la Paix, where it remains to this day.

Jean-Francois Mellerio made this diamond-and-pearl tiara, which Queen Isabel II of Spain bought for her daughter, the Infanta Isabel, Princess of Asturias, for her wedding in 1867.

During the Paris Exposition Universelle 1900, Mellerio dits Meller presented 12 pieces based on the peacock. Here is the “Paon Royal” head dress, which was made in gold and platinum with cloisonné and diamonds.

Serpents have always played a powerful role in world religions. They guarded Buddah. In Genesis, a serpent represented the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Two serpents facing each other reflected both themes in Art Nouveau jewelry. Mellerio dits Meller made this exquisite diamond and platinum diadem in 1921. Do the two snakes represent good and evil? Or, they are guarding the diamond pendant. I think the snakes play both roles, which makes this an art deco masterpiece.

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For more scholarly research, please examine these books, which can be found in our Resource Library


Serpentina: Snake Jewellery from Around the World
Art Nouveau: The French Aesthetic
Tiara

Eyes Open: Tribal Combs and Masks

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When light or wind passes through, the open eyes of a mask can haunt you. Ancestral spirits look back. I wanted to show some tribal combs and masks, whose open designs allow this emotional exchange to happen.

From The Creative Museum‘s African collection come these examples:

These three 20th Century hairpins with masks are ivory. They were made by the Zande people who live in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Zande also inhabit portions of South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

In Angola, the Ganguela are a small minority ethnic group made up of several tribes, each with their own language and social identity. The Lwimbi tribe is one of these. They are known for beekeeping and making pointed masks with open designs.

The Boa people live in the Northern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Their art features masks with prominent, round ears, which signify alertness in a warrior. The first comb has a representational head with red eyes and round ears. However, the second comb is more symbolic. Both the head and ears are round circles, and the ears are at arms length to give balance to the piece. I don’t think a Western modern artist could have done better.

The Baule tribe is one of the Akan peoples, who inhabit Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire. Their religion is centered around ancestor worship and nature gods.

These two masks are from the Gina Hellweger Collection. “This mask is an Ogoni Animal Mask from Nigeria. The Ogoni people live to the east of the Niger delta. They have retained a vital varied masquerading activity that is in part deeply rooted in their own tradition and in part adopted from neighboring ethnic groups, such as the Ibibio or Ijo tribes. Masks depciting wild animals are danced on the occasion of agrarian rituals.

“This mask is an old one from the Bambara people that live in central and southern Mali.”

Last, from the Bruce Frank Art Gallery comes this antique mask from Pora Pora in the East Sepik Provence of Papua New Guinea. This is the most haunting mask I have seen yet. It is made from terra cotta, has an elongated nose, and is pierced for attachment.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine these books, which can be found in our Resource Library.


Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment
Hair in African Art and Culture
Powerful Headdresses: Africa and Asia