Chinese Enamel Hair Pin for Sale at Le Boudoir

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Hello, it’s a pleasure to introduce myself. Many long-time collectors know me already. I’m Sue Marie Turner of Le Boudoir. You can see my profile on the Dealer Program page.

I just came home from a buying trip with a lovely collection of antique combs. Barbara picked this one. Anyone who sends me a serious inquiry about purchasing this 19th Century Chinese enamel hair ornament, and mentions that they came from BarbaraAnne’s Hair Comb Blog, will get a 5-pound discount off the listed price and free shipping.

This 19th Century enamel rooster only has specks of enamel missing and is signed. You can see the wonderful combination of light and dark aqua with red accents on the bird’s body, wings, and crest. The way the single pin on the back is curved shows the correctness of this piece. The design is quite unusual.

You may make serious inquiries for purchase here. The piece will be available to blog members exclusively for one week, before I send the listing out to my customer base.

Introducing our Dealer Program

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I am introducing a program for sellers who know what they are doing to offer exclusive discounts on beautiful, rare pieces from anyone who makes an inquiry and mentions they came from BarbaraAnne’s Hair Comb Blog. The discount will apply to the piece featured because I or one of our authors pick it. In so doing, we’re saying that if a collector buys this, they can feel safe that they are buying first-class, original treasure. Please see our Exclusive Discounts page for our list of vetted dealers.

The Nuba People of Sudan

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In 1974-’76, Leni Riefenstahl published portraits of the Nuba people in two books: Africa, which was about the Mesakin Nuba, and the People of Kau, which featured the South East Nuba 100 miles away.

In the mid-70’s, the Nuba’s artistic adornment included tattoos and complex geometric designs. A man or woman could chose one color or line to decorate themselves, as well. Hair was matted with clay, braided, and topped with feathered headdresses and/or beaded bandeaus. Women also wore clay beads at the bottom of braided hairstyles. Necklaces and armbands were also an essential part of Nuba attire.

This is what their villages looked like:

In the 1990’s, genocide came to Sudan, and the Nuba looked like this:

On July 1, 2011, the world recognized South Sudan, a country with a majority of Christians, whose borders could now be protected from the imposition of Muslim sharia law in the North. The Nuba desperately wanted to be part of the South.

Their Muslim, Christian, and shamanistic tribe members lived peacefully and exchanged ideas. However, Sudanese President Omar al Bashir started to bomb South Kordofan, where the Nuba Mountains lie. Crimes against humanity ensued. The people fled. As Nicholas Kristof reports, some had the guts to fight back.

One of the places they sought refuge was Israel. The African Refugee Development Center in Tel Aviv was formed to integrate African asylum seekers into Israeli society. However, the Israeli Ministry of Information frequently revokes Nuba permits because of a geographical misunderstanding.

What kind of jewelry do the Nuba make now?

Rene Lalique: Glass in Jewelry

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Lalique dazzled the public, carving combs of flowers and butterflies using new materials, such as ivory, bronze, and horn. But in 1901, he was the first to exhibit crystal-glass jewelry at the Exhibition of the Paris Salon. These four pieces show how he developed his idea.

In 1897-98, Lalique cast a mermaid in bronze. She has three fins. The outer two are solid, decorated with small emeralds, and swirl to encase opals. The middle fin is divided in three, as the engineering element that forms the prongs of the diadem. Highlighting her long, flowing hair, the mermaid also holds up a third opal.

In this 1905 corsage spray, Lalique uses plique-à-jour enamel, glass, and diamonds to depict insects pollinating a flower. It resides in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

Here is a comparison of a lovers’ kiss in an ivory comb c.1902

and the same idea done in a brooch of molded glass encased in silver, also at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine

Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau Jewellery from Pforzheim

Man Of Glass ( L’homme De Verre )

Galalith Plastic in Art Deco Jewelry: Auguste Bonaz Comb

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In 1897, Wilhelm Krische discovered that a new synthetic material could be made from the interaction of caesin (milk proteins) and formaldehyde. He combined the Greek words for milk and stone (gala and lithos) and named his new plastic Galalith. It revolutionized the button industry.

But also made in sheets, it could be cut and dyed into numerous flexible designs. Enter Oyonnax and August Bonaz. We have seen decorations within this shape in many Art Deco combs, but never like this.

The ornate way Bonaz combined yellow, orange, and black make this comb one of an Art Deco masterpiece. Complex, stylized flowers and swirls that make a V in the middle only add to its uniqueness. It was auctioned in Zurich for 900 Euros in 1969. Since that time the comb appeared in exhibitions at the Museum Bellerive in Zurich (1991) and at the State Museum for Applied Art in Munich (1997).

Some Lovely Things on Ebay

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Many things are Buy It Now’s, where the dealer sets the price. They have the time, so it’s up to the buyer to either pay or negotiate. But here are some beautiful pieces on the market.

This Victorian tiara, c. 1860, is selling for $17,500. Diamonds and rubies, set in yellow 14K gold, highlight a single-flower medallion.

The dealer dates this Byzantine bone comb to 997 AD. It is original, decorated with linear ring and dot patterns, and held together by copper rivets. In 997 AD, Emperor Basil II won the Battle of Spercheios, on the shores of the Spercheios River in what is now central Greece. Can we imagine that this comb could have been used by an officer in that battle? Price: $600.

The price of this Japanese Meiji set is ridiculous at $2000, but it has everything: ivory, perfect condition, signed, imaginative… Fan medallions with gold maki-e paint show tree branches, flower beds, and a wheelbarrow in between carved flowers. The kogai stick matches superbly. It’s a Maltese Falcon.

Usually, I do not show silver-topped pieces over celluloid teeth, but I liked this one because it had an aigrette theme. Could be French instead of Birmingham Sterling. No markings were shown. The dealer wants $295 for it. Dreaming is nice.

This French Empire coral diadem has all its pieces in place. No brass comb, but coral was Empress Josephine’s favorite decoration. It’s an auction with one day to go. Starting price: $565. Given what French Empire pieces have been selling for, the dealer might sell this on a snipe bid.

This dealer has some breathtaking Chinese hairpins from the 1800s. Most are silver with enamel. One has kingfisher feathers, and another is made of glass beads. Prices: $148, $500, $330, $290, $290 again, and $268 respectively. One thing I love about the jade and pearl piece is the scrolled wire handles holding the stones. Alexander Calder used the same idea in his hair combs, albeit as a major sculptural feature rather than an engineering solution.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine these books, which can be found in our Resource Library.

Chinese Aesthetics: The Ordering of Literature, the Arts, and the Universe in the Six Dynasties

Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma 1775-1950

Traditional Jewelry of India

The Creative Museum World Tour

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Another blog wrote about them: Le Blog de Cameline! She tells the story of the family in French. This post will be an English translation, and then I will pick some of my favorite combs from this magnificent collection, so we can enjoy both posts.

Cameline says, “The Creative Museum is a virtual museum devoted to hair ornaments.

Its history began 100 years ago, when Little Leona accompanied her military husband around the world. As she traveled, she collected treasures, which she kept in a shoe box. Upon her death, her grandchildren found the box. Wonder and passion was instantly exchanged through the generations.”

It was a moment that changed the family’s life forever. The grandchildren — thinking out of the box? (don’t kill me you guys :-) — collected over 2500 hair ornaments from all over the world and became scholars on their history. Chosen with a great eye, bought with bargaining acumen, written about beautifully, and photographed brilliantly, this collection is documented online for the world to see.

It has made its way into real museums, and the site is famous for its virtual exhibitions. The value of Leona’s passion has been realized. I cannot help but think of Emily Dickinson, one of America’s greatest poets, who hid her genius in a trunk, too, until her family opened it and had an epiphany.

Cameline chose her favorite pieces from The Creative Museum, so I encourage everyone to read her post. But here are a few of mine:

This bearded mask wears a traditional bird comb, a symbol of fertility. From the Kpeliye Brotherhood of the Senufo people, they are worn at the Royal Court. It comes from the Ivory Coast, c. 1950.

This tortoiseshell hairpin features a claw from a bird of prey. It is from North America.

This Afghan barrette dangles pendants below red and green gemstones. c. 1940.

Two phoenixes face each other in this 19th Century Chinese jade comb.

English Art Nouveau jewelers made this brass woman with flowers instead of feet and a crescent on her head.

In Japan, they loved ravens. The Meiji style has the drawing fold over to the back of the kushi.

Swedish silversmiths were well known for their Minimalist style, as in this wedding tiara with pearls and tourmalines designed by Ulf Sandberg of Göteborg.

When celluloid was invented in 1862, comb-making machines lowered the cost of production considerably. In France, the industry center was in Oyonnax. Innovative design thrived with the flexibility new plastics and speed of production. This hand-painted daisy comb is a prime example of a comb made between the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods.

Completing our world tour is a stop in New Guinea, where ancestor worship was predominant in the culture. From the Keram River area in a Kambot village comes this bamboo hair pin.

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine the publications of 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

Tiara

“Will you walk into my parlour?” said the Spider to the Fly

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We know Mary Howitt’s poem made its way into Lewis Carroll’s Lobster Quadrille, one of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, but could it have ever reached Japan? It was written in 1829, and I would date this Edo painted-tortoiseshell set to 1850.

I fell in love with it because the painting reminded me of the poem: a drama of life and death by false flattery. The comb artist added a disinterested cat on the front of the kushi.

“Sweet creature!” said the Spider, “you’re witty and you’re wise,
How handsome are your gauzy wings, how brilliant are your eyes!
…
“So he wove a subtle web, in a little corner sly,
And set his table ready, to dine upon the Fly.
…
“At last,
Up jumped the cunning Spider, and fiercely held her fast.
He dragged her up his winding stair, into his dismal den,
Within his little parlour — but she ne’er came out again!”

कंघी

For more scholarly research, please examine the Japanese collection of The Creative Museum, The Miriam Slater Collection, and our Resource Library.

Huge comb from Argentina

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By The Creative Museum: English translation is in the first comment.

En los comienzos del Siglo XIX en el Río de la Plata, hizo furor la moda de peinetones. Fue una herencia española pero en estas tierras llegaron a tener tales dimensiones que finalmente fueron una característica original de la vestimenta nacional.

En ciertos círculos de la sociedad porteña, se llevó a una competencia por ver quién usaba un peinetón más ornamentado y de mayor tamaño. Tal es la exageración a la que lleva la moda de la época, que llegaron a verse en Buenos Aires, peinetones de más de un metro de ancho. Eran tan grandes que dos damas no podían caminar al mismo tiempo por la vereda… Esa moda fue ridiculizada por el editor Cesar H. Bacle en dibujos humorísticos.

Alrededor de 1823, había en Buenos Aires cuatro fabricantes importantes de peinetas, peines y peinetones : Martín Suárez, Manuel Masculino, Salvador Vitela y Custodio Peis. El más famoso fue Masculino, cuya imaginación era sin límite. Masculino era un peinero Español que cuando llegó a Buenos Aires ya se usaba la peineta, pero él la convirtió en peinetón. Además de su habilidad para imponer un nuevo estilo, introdujo algunas novedades tecnológicas, como el uso de cierta maquinaria que permitió abaratar la producción. Estos fabricantes utilizaban materiales, entre ellos carey, imitación de carey, hueso, asta, y muchos de ellos con incrustaciones en oro, plata, marfil o nácar.

El Creative Museum ha adquirido recientemente en el Rastro de París un modelo de esta época. El vendedor dijo que lo tenía de un diplomático. Es una maravilla de carey de gran tamano (unos 30 centímetros / about 13 inches) con incrustaciones de oro.

Otros modelos se encuentran en el Creative Museum :

http://www.creative-museum.com/en/content/huge-tortoiseshell-comb-colonial-style-2

http://www.creative-museum.com/en/content/huge-masculino-comb-argentina-5

http://www.creative-museum.com/en/content/huge-comb-argentina

Se encuentran también en el Museo de Arte Hispano Americano Isaac Fernández Blanco de la Municipalidad de Buenos Aires donde existe una variadísima colección de peinetones.

Para saber más, se aconseja el libro El peinetón de Eduardo Gudiño Kieffer. Está escrito en castellano con muchas ilustraciones.

http://www.creative-museum.com/en/content/bibiography

Aigrettes and the French-Ottoman Alliance

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Between 1438-1740, the Pope chose all his Holy Roman Emperors from the Hapsburg Empire, which encompassed Austria, Spain, and Italy. To oppose them, the Ottoman Empire made a military alliance with France, England, and the Dutch. The conquest of Nice in 1543 was accomplished through a partnership between King Francis I and Sultan Suleiman I, the Magnificent. It took Nice away from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Francis and Suleiman also took Corsica in 1553, the Hapsburg Empire’s most important communication port.

Ottoman Emperors wore egret feathers and jewels on their turbans. The French took this idea from them, and the aigrette was first a decoration for men, either of royal birth or of high rank in the French army.

By the 1700’s aigrettes were worn by both men and women. This is Empress Catherine of Russia in 1711.

This is the turban-crown of Sir Jang Bahadur, the Nepalese prime minister from 1856-1877. The headdress, with aigrette, symbolized the bond between religious and secular leadership on the Indian sub-continent.

These are amulets of a mughal and his princess, provided by our author Gina Hellweger:

In the Belle Epoque, c. 1913, aigrette tiaras became the rage in women’s fashion. They came in wing shapes for the opera, and egret feathers were expressed either in jewels or attached to magnificent diamond tiaras. In these two stunning examples, Cartier made this male Islamic royal status symbol