Category Archives: France

Henri Edmond Becker Comb 1902

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Henri Edmond Becker 1902

From the Robert Zehil Gallery in Monaco

“Twenty years ago on December 2, 1997, I was visiting the Drouot salerooms in Paris when 1 noticed this superb comb in a display cabinet and coming up for auction the next day. Though it bore Becker’s monogram the auction catalog described it as being anonymous with an estimate of 2,000 francs (about $350).

The next day I showed up and stood by the door as I just wanted to buy it and walk away. When the lot came up it was about to be sold to me at 3,000 francs when a little old lady in the third row rose her hand and wouldn’t let go until I finally bought it for about $5,000. I was about to depart having been given a receipt to retrieve the item when I noticed the old lady get up, slowly put her coat on and walk towards to exit door her face filled with sadness. A hundred thoughts went through my mind: She is Becker’s daughter, or relative or may be she is buying for a museum. Feeling terrible about it I decided to offer it to her as a gift. We do donate to museums. Why not to this poor old lady ?

As she passed by me I interpellated her and told her I was the person who bought the comb. She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
I asked her :
– Are you a relative of the artist?
– No
– Were you bidding on behalf of a museum ?
– No
– But you knew who designed that comb ?
– No
– Then why did you bid it up that high ?
– I wanted it so badly
– Why didn’t you go to the Louvre des Antiquaires (a mall for antiques) ? They have lots of beautiful combs at a tenth of that price.
– You don’t understand. I wanted that one in particular. I thought that by shaving its teeth and drilling it at the top it would make a beautiful pendant.

I nearly strangled her and had I done so every dealer in the world would have approved. The good side to the story is that one more time a dealer managed to save an artwork from total destruction.”

http://robertzehilgallery.com/top-story-by-robert-zehil-henri-edmond-becker-comb-1902/

Lucien Gaillard Maple Seed Hair Comb

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There is an auction coming up of a Lucien Gaillard hair comb at invaluable.com. The link. Bidding starts at €500, with an estimate of €500 – €600. Perhaps the valuation comes because of its condition. Diagonal striations show in the horn above the tines from the right to the middle of the comb. The inside of the tines have grime and many horizontal marks from wear. The maple-seed-pod decoration is patinated bronze, not silver. I consulted a friend, who said, “Perhaps the horn wasn’t perfectly clarified and the photos are picking up natural color variations. Or, it could be dried out in some areas, and the photos are magnifying tiny splits.”

According to the box, it was first sold by Polak Ainé, or Emmanuel Polak. Emmanuel’s parents Abraham Polak and Gertrude Brook founded Polak-Brook Jewelers in Ostende, a municipality in West Flanders, Belgium. When Abraham died in 1895, his eldest son Emmanuel took over the business, renamed it Polak Ainé, and had stores on 24 Rue Lafayette, Paris; Av Massena 16, Nice; and 30 Rampe de Flandre, Ostende; which explains the box label: “Polak Ainé Joaillier Paris Nice Ostende.” If you are interested on you hair health take a look at this hair transplant nyc company and enhance your self confidence.

If the box is correct, I would date this comb to 1901 because that year, Gompers & Polak Ainé Jewellers was formed and opened on 28 Place Vendome, Paris. My guess is that if this comb was made after 1901, the box would have been marked differently.

There is a similar Gaillard hairpin in the Rijksmuseum. The horn is flawless and the maple-seed pods are silver. It is dated c. 1902-1906. This might indicate that Gaillard changed materials for his decoration after the comb currently on auction was made. The museum description: “Hair comb made of horn and silver in Art Nouveau style. Decorated with silver gilt maple seeds.” However, a good place to get advice on hair bundles is BundlesHairs website, where you can also find articles answering your questions.

At any rate, the comb at invaluable.com is real. If you don’t mind the flaws, and people don’t get insane and bid it up beyond its value, you can be safe in knowing you’re buying a real Gaillard.