Category Archives: Kanzashi

The Creative Museum Triumphs Again

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Every culture has a comb. It can symbolize a ruler’s deification, be a liturgical object for high priests, or an item that pushes the limits of an artistic movement. In Japanese culture, combs were an expression of love.

On May 4, The Creative Museum steps into the real world again by contributing items from their Japanese collection to an exhibition at the Musée d’arts d’Afrique et d’Asie called Le Japon Amoureux. Their combs will accentuate the Musée’s own collection of Japanese prints.

Having gained recognition by a second museum after En Tête à Tête at Le Musée des Beaux-Arts d’Angoulême, The Creative Museum’s collection is becoming a source for museums around the world. I am eagerly anticipating their multimedia presentation about Le Japon Amoureux. For now, I will just pick a few of my favorite Japanese combs.

This is a full modern wedding set of turquoise silk with colorful beads. It is composed of a kushi, two pairs of kanzashi and a bar placed in the bun.

This silver kanzashi celebrates a popular Japanese wedding concept: the crane for happiness and faithfulness; Minogame, a sea turtle so old, seaweed gets stuck to his tail. He symbolizes endurance and longevity; and pine branches and cherry blossoms for renewal.

This red cinnebar lacquer comb is decorated with ravens.

These two combs were made for Western clients. The first is carved in a beautiful cherry. Cranes and bamboo are painted in gold.

The second is made of shell with gold sparrows.

An Edo lacquered wood and gilt embossed comb with Takamaki-e (a technique where the lacquer is polished down to show the gold paint in high relief) shows a palanquin highlighted in black.

A moon of pierced blond tortoiseshell appears behind a dark cloud. Taisho (1912-1926). I think this shows how the Art Deco movement influenced Japanese artists.

I have left out some splendid pieces. To see those in the context of the exhibition, you can wait for the slide show or examine The Creative Museum’s entire Japanese collection.

For more scholarly research, please examine the publications of The Creative Museum.

Japanese Tama Kanzashi Themes

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Japanese women’s hairstyles became works of art during the Edo period (1603-1868). Lush ornamentation with kushi- and kogai-stick sets, accompanied by kanzashi followed. Only rulers, samurai clans, and other aristocratic families had mon, or crests to indicate their status. In the Meiji period (1868-1912), common families were allowed to obtain mon.

Tama is a type of kanzashi, which usually has a red or green ball. However, Meiji families also substituted their crests, or artists carved familiar cultural themes. Ivory and tortoiseshell kanzashi sticks could be as intricate as the featured decoration. Metal sticks could be used as weapons.

From the Okazaki Collection comes this group of brass kanzashi. They feature objects, which express Japanese culture: a lantern, water buckets, an instrument, carp, and a bird looking at a cherry blossom.

The Creative Museum has just obtained this magnificent Meiji ivory tama kanzashi with a family crest. The flower has a stone, and the stick is painted. It comes in the original box.

The ivory kanzashi of the the crescent moon with coral buds and the bird with two beads on a painted stick belong to Miriam Slater. The geisha in the center is mine.

From tama, we can travel back in time and imagine what life must have been like in Meiji Japan: the animals and flowers they loved, what people ate, their technology, and the music they played. It must have been a wonderful world.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine The Creative Museum’s exhibition Chine et Japon: A Fleur de Tete and Okazaki Collection: Combs and Ornamental Hairpins (Japanese Edition)

BarbaraAnne’s Hair Comb Buying Guide

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Here are my picks from around the web.

This masterpiece was brought to my attention by The Creative Museum. Merci, Monsieur Touzinaud.

The most magnificent cameos are those where the artist gives the natural coloration in the stone a purpose in his carved figure. In these stunning examples, the color defines flowers in the women’s hair.

After the French Revolution of 1789, Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, wore combs with three medallions, which held up his shoulder-length hair in a bun. Medallions on the best combs were porcelain cameos. On E-Bay, just such an 18th Century comb from is selling for 3500 Euros. Gold outlines vermeil as well as the three sublime cameos. The decoration sits on tortoiseshell. I have asked the seller for a closeup of the maker’s marks to see if I can find out who the jeweler was.

On Ruby Lane, a beautiful Victorian tortoiseshell comb is selling for $395. The pique work is done by hand in 14K gold, it has a Peigne Josephine influence, beautiful condition, c. 1850. I love it.

These silver kanzashi in perfect condition depict traditional Japanese instruments and are selling on E-Bay for $680. The biwa rests on top of a drum. They are listed as being c. 1930.

I love this antique Mexican silver comb with an amber carving of Maya woman. She is wearing a traditional headdress with earrings that move. The comb was made to hold a mantilla veil. I love the open design paired with the intricacy and accuracy of the carving. It symbolizes imagination and a respect for Indian ancestors in a Spanish world, and is selling for $254 on E-Bay.

This enamel-on-silver Chinese hair pin, c. 1900, is selling for $165 on E-Bay.

From the site 1stdibs, this French Art Nouveau comb c.1905 was first sold at the Galleries LaFayette in Paris and ended up with a dealer in Chicago. The maker is unknown, and it is selling for $650.

Finally, a beautiful blonde tortoiseshell English Victorian comb supports tulip buds in crescent moons on top of a row of seed pearls. It was made by Treacher & Co, is in pristine condition and comes in its original box. Price: $2250. c. 1880. Also found on 1stdibs.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine

The Riches of the French Empire by the Creative Museum, as well as these books, which can be found in our Resource Library.


The Comb: Its History and Development
Le Peigne Dans Le Monde
Hair Combs: Identification & Values

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

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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

Miriam Slater: Kanzashi – the difference between art and the decorative

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For the kanzashi collector, it is helpful to be able to discern between that which is decorative and pieces which are art. Auction prices often confirm the fact that the more art qualities a kanzashi has, the more collectable it becomes. Decorative hair combs (which are often quite beautiful in their own right), will not possess the depth of expression that is seen in more artistic pieces. Art is distinguished by its originality, a sense of aesthetics and clear, purposeful expression. Often, within in it, one feels the presence of the maker – there is the sense that the piece has its own personality.

In the top comb set we see lovely decorative flower design. But on second glance we find a demonic figure hiding in the right side of the stick. The inclusion of ugliness with utmost beauty makes a statement about life that is beyond the decorative –the comb set has now become evocative and more poetic in mood. In the second comb, the artist reaches beyond the decorative in this complex, beautifully executed design. On it are two separate landscapes, each one on golden, smooth lacquer fan shapes. Around these shapes, darker, roughly carved water forms flow. The movement of the water gives a feeling of excitement to the piece, especially when contrasted with the smooth texture of the fan shapes and the serene designs within them. The water even cuts into the fan forms, just as water does in real life, showing that the artist who made this gave a lot of thought to the play between the two opposing elements: surging water and serene landscapes. When an artisan goes the extra mile to create something exceptional, the result is often that ever-elusive thing we call “art.”

कंघी

For more scholarly, research, please examine

Okazaki Comb Collection, by Sumiko Hashimoto

Edo and Meiji Kogai Sticks

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Earlier Meiji kogai sticks were long and flat, with gold maki-e decorations on each edge. Edo kogai sticks were shorter and thicker, carved just at the top. These Meiji tortoiseshell sticks come from The Creative Museum, while the Edo lacquer sticks reside in The Miriam Slater Collection.

This extraordinary early Meiji kogai stick belongs to the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD. It is gold, split like two sticks of bamboo, and depicts a sparrow flying through the trees.

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For more scholarly research, please examine

Chinese and Japanese Hair Ornaments by The Creative Museum

The Combs and Ornamental Hairpins in the Collection of Miss Chiyo Okazaki

Miriam Slater Collection: Kanzashi with people

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By Miriam Slater:

The designs in most Japanese kanzashi most commonly are drawn from nature, such as animals ( tortoise, cranes and fish), plants (bamboo, flowers and pine trees) or landscapes (harbors, waves and mountains). Much harder to find are kanzashi in which people are depicted. The inclusion of human beings (to me at least) gives the piece a more personal touch and demands more from an artist because people are complex to render, as can be seen in the elaborate silver piece depicting a man seated on a lotus leaf. For this reason and the fact that they are so rare, hair ornaments which depict people are considered very collectable. Shown here are a few pieces from my collection except the comb depicting the man and monkey which is from the Okasaki collection.

Miriam Slater Collection: Tortoiseshell Kanzashi

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Chrysanthemums are the imperial flower of Japan. They represent friendship, which masks a secret wish for love. Perfection is defined by the unfolding of the flower’s petals.

As symmetry is an important principle in Japanese art, kanzashi are usually made in pairs. This pair from The Miriam Slater Collection combines dark and blonde tortoiseshell masterfully. You can see mottled sticks, dark leaves and centers, and blonde flowers blooming. A butterfly stops for a moment. The bira bira below have dark shell pieces linked by blonde shell chains. The balance between dark and light affects the way we see both colors. The Japanese were also known for portraying realism in exact detail.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine

Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers and Masterworks: 1680 – 1900

Edo: Arts of Japan’s Last Shogun Age

Beauty & Desire in Edo Period Japan

Miriam Slater Collection: Ivory Kanzashi

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Today, I wanted to celebrate the taste of our author Miriam Slater. Don’t let this piece fool you. “The truth is never pure and rarely simple.” This Meiji kanzashi is a painting within a sculpture.

Within the bird perched on a branch, is the stem and flower of a Japanese hibiscus. Notice the stick painted in beige, as the natural ivory is left alone to show the leaves. Atop the bird is the flower painted in gold with a coral center.