Category Archives: French Hair Comb

There’s A Story In This Sale

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In April, 2008, Christies sold this Lalique horn comb with a blue and green enameled Japanese landscape and a sunset in yellowish orange enamel for $273,500. The comb was made c. 1900 and is one of Japonisme’s greatest expressions from the French side.

On 9/21/09, the SAME COMB was put on sale again with a price estimate of $15,000 to $20,000, and sold for $92,500. I don’t understand this at all. The only thing I can think of is that something happened to the finances of the previous buyer, and they were in trouble. I agree with the first price, just like I agree with the Galliard comb selling for $218,500. Who knows. Someone got a bargain. I hope they realize what they won.

Lucien Galliard

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In April 2008, I noted Christies as appraising this Lucien Galliard comb (c. 1900) at $100,000 to $150,000. I guess it didn’t sell. Today, it’s appearing at auction again with an estimate of $80,000 to $120,000. The art is still astonishing, but markets have changed, sadly. Addendum: No, they haven’t! Price realized: $218,500, 10/21/09

Called the bluebird comb, three dark- and light-blue enamel and gold bluebirds have diamond eyes and soar through pale blue and white plique-à-jour enamel clouds. The stars are made from old-cut diamonds.

Lucien Gaillard employed Japanese craftsmen in order to create jewelry for the 1900 Paris Exposition. When Lalique saw his collection, he told Gaillard to focus on that area. Following the Exhibition, Galliard’s Japanese craftsman created unique pieces such as the Bluebird Comb, even though he put his own signature on them.

Something That Grabbed Me

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I’m not one of these buyers who thinks things over. If I fall in love, it’s immediate, and I buy the piece. I haven’t bought a hair comb in a long time, but this Auguste Bonaz had my name on it. By the shape of the comb itself, this is a 1940’s piece. Underneath the comb, I’ve included an ad for Bonaz combs in 1944 so you can see the same-shaped comb.

Japonisme: Lalique and Meiji Birds

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After the opening up of trade routes to Japan, Edo and Meiji combs were introduced at the Paris exhibition of 1867. They took the European art world by storm and began a craze in France called Japonisme . It is interesting to compare Lalique’s masterpiece Two Swallows with a Stalk of Oats c. 1906-1908, carved horn gold and diamonds, with a Meiji kanzashi of plover birds.

In Swallows, Lalique incorporates the art nouveau philosophy of Symbolism: one thing transforms into another. He elongates the swallows’ wings to engineer the tines of the comb. It’s a double entendre.

The Meiji ornament, which went on a kanzashi stick, shows the relationship of a mated couple of plover birds in a tree. The shell used had different colors, which adds shadow, but the perspective and theme are realistic, emotional, and stunningly carved. The French skewed nature to match the intellectual ideas all art forms were using in that time.



Chinese Sculpture and Ruby Hair Pins

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This Imperial Palace princess reveals a beaded necklace, while her hair is tied in an elaborate topknot beneath a Buddhist tiara and diadem. It was made in Dehua, Fujian China by artist Zhizao, c. 1750-1800.


Although we’ve seen many hairpins in this style, this pair caught my attention because of the beautiful scrollwork, rubies, and diamonds.



Lalique, the Master

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He changed the imagination of the world for all time. Here are an orchid, and something I’ve never seen before: hair sticks with a bouquet of coral flowers on top, very geisha, very Japonisme. The cattleya orchid is made of ivory, gold, enamel, horn, and diamonds and resides in the Cleveland Museum of Art, c.1903-1904. The coral flowers grace the MuseeD’Orsay in Paris, c. 1902.



Alexandre de Paris 2009

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This comb, called Marbella, has two interlocking intricate pieces, one white, one black. Each is decorated asymetrically with rhinestone-encrusted flowers. Ateliers in Paris only made 4 of them. This is a magnificent piece of modern art.



Similarly, this camelia barrette with leaves that look spontaneously placed decorating a plethora of crystals, is also a rare piece.

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

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A beautiful Lalique comb with a gold top centered by a woman wearing a hat, surrounded by two birds. One bird head is outside the design. The other is hidden behind the design. The comb is made of horn. Listed for $3000, an offer of $2000 was accepted on March 21. The markings said Lalique Paris 585. You may refer to auction #200321633101.




A lovely ivory pheonix comb that the Chinese made for the Victorian market sold for $266 on March 26. You may refer to auction #350180262355.




Finally, an Angela Cummings barrette she made for Tiffany’s in the 1980s sold for $990 on March 25. She is a wonderful designer known for her original interpretations of natural forms in gold and diamonds. You may refer to auction #360140208688.