This masterpiece was made in France, c. 1830 – 1850 and resides in the Musée Galliera – Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris.
French Tortoiseshell Comb
4 Replies
Category Archives: French Hair Comb
French Empire Comb Sold at Auction
A French Empire comb sold at Skinner Auction House in Boston for $2963. C. 1809 – 1819, seed pearls delicately form feather motifs, which are mounted on the correctly textured gold comb.
कंघी
For more scholarly research, please examine
French Turquoise and Pearl Comb on Ebay
This comb is to drop dead from, but so is the price (read: secret, ulterior reason why BA has this blog ;-). There is a French marking for solid 18K gold, 64 natural pearls, 36 turquoise stones in 9 vertical lines. It’s hinged. The comb is horn. I’m breathless, but for $5200, I’m speechless! :-)
An Ebay Auction to Watch
I guess we’re going through an Empire comb phase. ;-) An Empire tiara top, hinged to either a shell or celluloid comb, is being auctioned on E-bay for 185 GBP at the moment. Does anyone think it looks like a married piece? The tiara is gorgeous. I see the 4 bidders on the board. They have feedback scores of 9, 15, 0, and 35. Someone is using a new account, or they are beginners. I will be interested to see if a new or experienced collector wins this.
UPDATE: Someone with a 342-feedback score outbid a newcomer with 9, and the married piece sold for $1500. The newcomer bid 14 times. The seller was absolutely honest. Unless the buyer already has the correct metal bottom, the seller won E-bay’s psychology game huge on this auction. I have to give the seller a “fair play.”
Magnificent Empire Combs
The Rococo style of jewelry making slipped into obscurity in 1785. Napoleon Bonaparte and his Empress Josephine brought the Empire style to prominence during his rule as Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815. Combs had curves, elaborate floral designs and scrollwork to show off jewels or enamel paintings.
From 1820 to 1870, there was a revival of the Empire style, especially in Victorian England. Because of the Repoussé gold work, where artists hammered gold patterns by hand, I would date this comb c. 1840. The enameled butterflies are magnificent, and the comb resides in a museum.
Here are two magnificent Empire combs from the Creative Museum. The first one has real amethysts:
The second one has gold-inlaid lapis-lazuli stones alternating between instances of Napoleon’s laurel-wreath crown. Wow.
Rene Lalique at the Musée Calouste Gulbenkian
Calouste Gulbenkian was the oil entrepreneur who opened up commerce from the Middle East to the West. He also had a 50-year friendship with Rene Lalique and obtained pieces directly from the artist. His art collection numbered over 6000 pieces, to which a museum in his name was built in Lisbon.
This comb depicts leaves in horn, from which emerge pink enameled flowers with black stamens.
Ebay: An Auction to Watch
695 Euros and 5 days to go. 12 bidders. This is an Empire comb with 9 glass pearl beads atop a silver gilt tiara with flowers. The flowers have blue enamel centers and real-pearl petals. It has a rooster hallmark, and was made in Paris, c. 1798 – 1809. Provenance: “Yves Markezana – Taps French gold, silver, platinum from 1275 to the Present (ISBN 2-85101-103-0), page 89.”
Lalique Comb
I cannot believe there is a Lalique comb that hasn’t been featured on this blog. ;-P This one is “Drone with Umbels,” c. 1901-2. It is made from carved horn, gold, and enamel. An umbel is a flower consisting of a series of short stalks with small blooms, such as Queen Anne’s Lace.
Comb Photography: Elkington & Co Electroplate Barrette
This art nouveau barrette was made by the company who pioneered electroplating silver onto copper in 1840s Birmingham England. E&C marks are on the back. This art nouveau barrette was made c. 1900. Two women’s faces, one sad, one happy, metamorphosize out of grape vines, and are separated by a fleur de lis figure. In a beautiful triangular shape, I photographed it on gradations of grey.
French Turquoise, Silver, and Pearl comb
The French had a style of tiara comb with a silver base encasing turquoise beads and small pearls. They are small, but intricately beautiful. c. 1880. Each row of stones has a differently shaped setting. Here is mine. If you have one of these, send me a picture, and we can compare notes. I hope to have my server back Tuesday, at the latest Wednesday. Until then, I’m uploading pics to WordPress because I’m on this *must practice photography* binge. :-)
I am adding two photographs to this post. The French turquoise combs of the Creative Museum. The first one is a silver and turquoise tiara hinged onto a tortoiseshell comb, most unusual.
