Category Archives: E-Bay

1960’s Japanese Transistor Radio

From Japan: A transistor radio designed as an owl. c. 1960’s. H: 7 1/4 in. W: 4 1/2 in. D: 5 in. The tuner buttons also function as the owl’s eyes and turn red, when the radio is on. Owls have many more receptors in their eyes than humans, so they can see in the dark. Those receptors require fresh oxygenated blood to function, which is why their eyes show up as red in a camera flash.

The owl’s significance in Japan may have started with the Ainu, the indigenous people of Hokkaido Japan, whose religion included animal gods. One was the owl god Chikap Kamuy, who was thought to bring prosperity and ward off famine. The Ainu were conquered by the Japanese in the 9th Century.

In Japanese culture, luck is a powerful spiritual energy that connects people, spirits, objects, and places. You open yourself up to receving and giving luck. The owl is a symbol of luck. Therefore, owl charms are ubiquitous.

Now comes our moment of Felliniesque magnificence.

Into this Japanese historical scene marches the American cult movie classic, “Clash of the Titans” (1981). The movie is set during the Corinthian War (395 – 387 BC) with the Achaemenid Empire.

The King of Argos is on the edge of the sea, casting out his daughter Danaë after she bore Zeus’s child, Perseus. She lands on an island. Perseus grows up and wants to marry Andromeda. A labyrinthine plot surrounds and ensues. Andromeda ends up tied to the sea cliffs threatened by the sea monster Kraken.

Zeus orders Athena to give Perseus her owl Bubo, but Athena orders a golden replica of Bubo instead.

And here we have it.

Athena was never represented by the Northern Eagle owl of Central Asia: genus Bubo / species bubo, nor did she have a particular owl that accompanied her. Her symbol was the small owl Athene noctua.

However, a pet mechanical owl named Bubo flies to Kraken holding Medusa’s head so Kraken falls apart. Andromeda is free to marry Perseus and live happily ever after.

Hollywood is genius by mistake. They picked the wrong owl. However, Bubo flew into American popular culture igniting the passions of bloggers, who declared that if someone didn’t respect their favorite mechanical owl, they were dead to them.

The seller of this item on E-bay asked, “This guy was made in JAPAN in the early 1960’s, almost 20 years before The CLASH of the TITANS movie premiered. Wonder where the inspiration for BUBO the OWL came from???”

A scholar must retain the discipline to remain on the brink of the unknown, hoping evidence is discovered that will prove hypotheses. But of one thing I’m confident: we will never know what inspires the imaginations of Hollywood movie directors.

Victorian Hair Pins

Whether the hairstyle was divided into three or more parts, some short, others long; or, the hair was complexly braided at the back, Victorian women adorned their chignons with tortoiseshell combs and pins.

On top of the pins were fantastic gold creations of griffins with ruby eyes, silver so delicately woven it looked like lace, and diamonds. Sometimes the tortoiseshell was carved into flowers and intricate designs, allowing the different colors of the natural material to shade the art like a painter would use his or her brush. Other times, they were capped with gold and silver crowns.

This pin hails from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Two carved gold rings on top of a cap are set with diamonds, a sapphire and a ruby.

Carved gold tops decorate the cross shape of this dark tortoiseshell hair pin

Just as silver is delicately woven into lace with diamond dots in this hair pin,

so The Creative Museum‘s hair pin has a circular foliage-like silver design.

More complex caps could set off jewels, such as in this hair pin with aquamarines

and these griffins with ruby eyes.

Or, the setting could be invisible to set off a delicate spray of pearls.

Any way you look at them, jeweled Victorian tortoiseshell hair pins were made in an astonishing array of variations.

कंघी

If you would like to buy an antique Victorian hair pin, I am confident in recommending these active E-Bay listings:

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please see our Resource Library and these books:


Jewellery in the Age of Queen Victoria

The Comb: Its History and Development

Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Art and Design

French Empire Comb on Ebay

Selling on ebay is a magnificent example of a French Empire comb from the Eugenie period, c. 1860. The brass gallery underneath the cameos is intricately inlaid. The 5 ox-blood coral cameos are superbly carved and surrounded by coral beads. The comb itself is shell. Excellent condition. Price: $7500 or best offer.

Another Eugenie comb sold at Sotheby’s for 3000 GBP on June 29, 2006. The ruby- and pearl-encrusted mount depicts a golden eagle fighting with a serpent. Napoleon I used the golden eagle as a symbol of his new French Empire.

Given that 2006 sale price, this dealer is betting that the market for Eugenie combs has gone up in 6 years. OK. But since the dealer knows what he’s selling, why list a Sotheby’s-level comb on E-bay in the first place?

Ebay: French Empire Comb

Ebay is Antiques Road Show Live. It can really get ridiculous sometimes, but I know a lot of people who have been watching this auction and wondering what the final price would be. It just sold for $876.98.

This is a French Empire Josephine-style comb, c. 1860, with beautiful large brass galleries and blue-and-white glass cameos. Excellent condition. I was having a debate with someone about whether or not the comb featured Greek Gods or Greek philosophers. My logic would dictate that Zeus is in the middle and Hera is at his left, but comments and opinions are welcome.

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

Three stunning way-too-expensive pieces are selling on E-bay. They come from different worlds. Looking at them, I feel like I’m in a historical conference in an imaginary United Nations.

The first piece is a back comb from the French Empire’s Eugenie period, c. 1860. A blue enameled center sets off two sides of gilt-bronze scrolls, as well as a scroll at the top. The tiara sits on a tortoiseshell comb. Bidding starts at 1190 EUR, and you may examine auction 221042135855.

Scholarship by Joost Daalder (thank you!): “This rare silver head piece comes from the Yao people, one of the 55 recognized ethnic minorities in China. It was known as a celestial crown, made by girls at puberty, using silver pieces and human hair. The original early piece was worn every day by one Yao sub-group but only for special occasions by other sub-groups. You may see the discussion in Truus Daalder’s book, Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment, pages 209-10. The more modern versions – several of which were not made by the Yao themselves – usually lack the human hair and are less fine and less intricate.”

As you can see, this piece is original. Price: $4800. You may examine item 260814325656.

Our last piece is a comb from the Batak peoples of Sumatra (thank you Jen Cruse), made from wood, bamboo, and brass. It sports a beautifully carved handle. The condition is fabulous. Price: 600 EUR or best offer. You may examine item 330743121368.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine these books in our Resource Library.


Paris Salons 1895-1914: Jewellery, Vol. 1: The Designers A-K

The Art of Silver Jewellery: From the Minorities of China

Ethnic Jewellery and Adornment

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

I guess Ebay is having a cycle. Sometimes it’s dead for what seems like years, as in, “If I see this comb listed for way too much money one more time I’m going to scream.” Other times, beautiful pieces come on the market.

This week, a white-gold hair pin with diamond stems and pink mother-of-pearl flower buds is selling for $1439.99 in a Buy It Now. It was made in the 1960’s. The hair pin shape with two curved prongs surrounding a straight one imitates French style in the late 19th Century. You may refer to auction 130649801556.


Pin It

The comb in this ad

sold for $102 on Ebay France, a pittance. Hand-drawn geishas wearing kanzashi grace a French ivory comb, as they are framed by floral kanzashi ornaments. One of our authors wanted it, but lost by a snipe bid from an unknown account. My guess is the person who put the picture of this ad in the Bonaz section of her store got the prized, rare Bonaz.


Pin It

An 18th Century silver hair ornament with rubies and a bird in the center is selling for $700. It has the original patina, is in excellent condition, and was part of the traditional decoration worn by classical Bharata-natyam dancers in the Southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. You may refer to auction 190153693139.


Pin It

The same dealer is also selling a superb Yao hair pin. The Yao people originated in the hills of China and settled in the Golden Triangle, which overlaps the mountain ranges of Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. It is the second-largest opium-producing area in the world next to Afghanistan. This ceremonial pin has real hair and wool on the back and was made c. 1900. Price: $1550.


Pin It

This Chinese ivory export comb with three floral stems over an intricate lacy background sold for $643.78. It came in its original box. Sellers who list antique ivory combs on ebay describe them as “ox bone” because too many people have tried to sell modern poached ivory, which is a crime and should be prosecuted.


Pin It

Our last item is a beautiful pair of French Art Nouveau hair pins with painted pink flowers. The seller believes they are blonde tortoiseshell. I would have to hold them in my hand, but tradition dictates the material could also be clarified horn. The auction has one day to go, there are no bids, and the starting price is $331.52. You may refer to auction 200716111321.


Pin It

कंघी

For more research, please examine


How to Buy, Sell, and Profit on eBay

How to Sell on Ebay for the Computer Shy – 2nd Edition

Estate Sale Prospecting for Fun and Profit with craigslist and eBay

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

We are beauty hunters. Some lovely things have sold on E-bay at good prices, while other nice pieces are still for sale.

This emerald, pearl, and diamond Victorian parure was sent in by one of our community’s subscribers. I was so pleased to hear from her. Thank you! If another subscriber finds something delicious, you are more than welcome to send me a picture at barbaraanneconsulting@gmail.com.

This parure comes from Austria, c. 1870, with hallmarks. It is made from 14K gold, sterling silver, faceted and cabachon emeralds, rose-cut diamonds, and pearls. The emeralds are mostly light green, however, the two cabachons at the bottom of the necklace have the beautiful deep-green color you want to see. The set comes in its original box. Price: $29,500.

This beautiful metal kanzashi from The Miriam Slater Collection has many meanings. The bent wire represents water. The crane signifies honor and loyalty. A silver rock anchors a floral bouquet. I will guess that the cuts in the circular pieces of dangling metal are a family crest. It is on sale for $225, a nice price for a rare, elaborate piece.

This 19th-Century Indian ivory comb was mislabled “Antique Victorian Ornately Carved Ox Bone Double Comb.” The Creative Museum has one. Whoever got this, even with the broken piece on the top left, for $63.91 did very well.

French Art Nouveau innovators like Louis Aucoc, who employed Rene Lalique, ornamented clarified horn with pearls to create jewelry that mirrored the natural world. He had many followers, among them Lucien Galliard. This art nouveau horn comb is beautifully translucent, with scrolling on the edges. Its three asymmetrical pearls are just enough, but not too much — a stunning piece. Unsigned, it sold for $639.07.

This real tortoiseshell, gold, and pearl art nouveau back comb is a classic beauty in excellent condition. It sold for $219.30.

Lastly, a dealer misidentified this silver comb as a “Spanish Mantilla Bird.” Well, first, a mantilla is a veil. The peineta that holds up the mantilla is much larger, and the comb is American. The hallmark indicates that it was made by Knowles & Ladd of Providence, Rhode Island, c. 1870. I do love the bird though. It sold for $145.

कंघी

For more research on comb identification and values, please examine these books, which can all be found in our Resource Library.


Hair Combs: Identification & Values

The Comb: Its History and Development

Le Peigne Dans Le Monde

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

That Ebay Auction: It was an Amethyst Empire Comb

The stones were amethysts. Shall we compare the comb in this Empire parure on a historical jewelry site to the one that went for $458 in that E-bay auction?

The comb correctly identified.

The amethyst Empire comb that went for $458 on Ebay.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine

Tiara by Diana Scarisbrick

Napoleon’s Letters to Josephine, 1796-1812

Catalogue Des Bijoux Du Musee Napoleon III (1862)