African intellectual history came alive when sculptors placed figures on top of hair combs. These ideas are beautifully shown in Facing Me, Facing You, a video narrated by the Creative Museum.
By Miriam Slater:
The Japanese over the centuries have distinguished themselves by their cultivation of humor, fine design and poetry within their art. In fact, these qualities are what originally attracted me to kanzashi. As an artist I found myself entranced by the variety of expression within these beautifully crafted pieces.
Metaphors and symbols are commonly seen in Japanese hair ornaments. For example, in the top image, a silver hair ornament depicts a clamshell, a symbol that can also suggest a woman in the Floating World. When opened up, to the viewer’s surprise, in the shell is a small gold crab, pinchers ready!
The second ornament (of a similar theme) features a closed clamshell and a knife used to pry open clams. The clam’s moveable parts will open to reveal the prize within, a pearl. Symbolic objects are frequently seen on kanzashi which enhance the expression and meaning of each piece. The tortoise comb with a fishing rod can be seen as a metaphor for flirting and courtship with its implied hooking and the reeling in of one’s “catch”.
The crow, a common bird that is noisy and known for its bad manners, graces a red lacquer hair comb as an elegant adornment for a woman of position and beauty. The juxtaposition of what is considered ugly played with utmost beauty reflects the poetic side of the Japanese culture. So, to thoroughly enjoy and understand kanzashi, it really helps to see them not only as finely crafted functional objects, but also as works of art imbued with more subtle meanings.
I stumbled upon hair ornaments by chance, and to this day, I am still moved by this surprising story…
Following studies in Artistic Cabinet-Making and work in a small shop, very soon I felt the need to make woodworking my own, to develop a more personal approach to my trade. With this in mind, I started looking for the perfect medium, the element that would become the focus of my practice.
Through my research, I came across a wonderful book: Le Peigne dans le Monde by Robert Bollé (“Combs of the World”). Mr Bollé comes from a family of comb makers from Oyonnax, former “comb capital of the world.”
Following the two Great Wars, comb popularity declined. Thus, in 1946, Robert’s father Georges Bollé made the first nylon pair of glasses in the world. In 1978, Robert Bollé took over his father’s business. Even though they were now making only glasses, Bollé went around the world and methodically collected anything that was called a comb. He gathered an exceptional collection, most of which is kept today at the Musée du Peigne et de la Plasturgie d’Oyonnax. That is how Robert Bollé came to write this book, and this is how I discovered hair ornaments. This discovery was more than crucial in my young career.
From that moment on, I directed my experimentations primarily on hair ornaments, which offered me a richness in conceptual, aesthetical and technical possibilities. About a year later, during a professional trip to France, I had the great pleasure to visit the Comb Museum in Oyonnax. This was an exceptional event for me.
Following this visit, the Museum curators acquired three of my hair ornaments.
That is how, only a few years after launching myself in comb-making, I had the great honour to enter the collection that had inspired it all…
Of course, I alone cannot claim to revamp sophisticated hair ornaments. Rather, I wish to keep a tradition alive, and to bring a personal interpretation to this mythical accessory. I chose exception and rarity for the love of the material and know-how…
My first hair ornaments experimentations…
There have been many lovely combs on the American, British, and French E-bay sites. However, some dealers misidentify their comb’s country of origin. Here are two examples. Please see item #130476761205.
The hairpin is stunning, condition excellent, no arguments that it would be a wonderful piece for any collection. There’s only one problem. It’s a Chinese gold-filigree ornament from the Qing Dynasty (1644 – 1911). According to research from the Creative Museum, “During the Qing Dynasty, many jewels were made of gold-wire filigree. (See book “Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series” published by Beijing Publishing House, page 221 – ISBN: 7-200-04899-2)” Here is a picture of their Qing hairpin:
The second misidentified comb did not sell. Please see item #160568156596.
Another lovely piece, but again, it’s not Japanese. It’s from the Punjab Region of Pakistan. The Creative Museum has a gorgeous one with beads, pearls, wood indentations, and a fish theme.
This kanzashi IS Japanese. It’s gorgeous. Please refer to item #280637283941. It’s going for $725, but the seller is accepting offers.
Sotheby’s sold this set of 4 coral, gold, and tortoiseshell Sicilian combs for 3120 EUR on June 20. They are c. 1890 and came in their original box.
The one I bought :-)
The one I didn’t buy. :-(
From the Creative Museum
This elegant painted horn comb touches those who have Lalique hearts. Even though the design is layered, the transparency allows light to shine through the comb, perfectly expressing a dragonfly in real life.
There is a lovely silver framed Edo set selling on Ebay for $1250. Using studs to attach the floral decoration to the kushi’s silver frame, the artist punctuates it with coral beads. The dealer dates the set as 1900 – 1920.
Here is why I am doubting his dates.
1. The size of the silver frame in relation to the comb looks Edo to me.
2. The comb itself is tortoiseshell, while the frame is silver.
3. The tortoiseshell comb has bug bites, a sign of age.
4. The floral design is attached to the comb instead of being cut out of one piece.
5. The cutting in the middle of the kogai stick is a line in the middle of two hearts, facing inward.
6. The kogai stick has the same decorative theme as the kushi. In modern pieces that mimic the Edo era, the kushi is usually accompanied by an oversized kanzashi, not a kogai stick.
7. Here is another silver Edo set that sold on ebay. In fact, I think it was my first blog post!
The full set selling on Ebay:
The kushi front and back, where you can see the floral design is attached.
A similar set from Miriam Slater’s collection. Notice the cutting of the line in between two hearts on the kogai.
A piece from my collection: this is Taisho. The silver design, comb and theme of flowers in water, are all carved out of one piece of silver, and adorned with gilded brass and black for color. My set is accompanied by a kanzashi, not a kogai.
What does everyone think? Am I seeing this comb set correctly? Agreements / Disagreements welcome.
I would like to welcome two new authors to our community blog.
An award-winning Canadian modern artist, Jessica Beauchemin creates balanced abstract wood sculptures, which I feel mirror the design sense of Alexander Calder.
Our second new author is Miriam Slater. We have had passionate conversations about Japanese hair ornaments for years, and she has put her collection online. When I saw what she had, I fainted. She will write about her own collection, as is proper, but as I have absolutely no emotional control, I must share three pieces. They are all Edo masterpieces, and I am sure Miriam will have more to say about her work in future posts.
Ivory Edo half-moon comb of plover birds sitting on a cherry tree branch, with blossoms.
Tortoiseshell Edo comb of three carp swimming in the water. The carving on the fish is so detailed, they almost have human expressions.
Do you see how the turtle is looking from underneath the water at the birds flying above? The artist achieves this metaphor by hooking the birds to the kushi with silver finials and coral beads. Brilliant.
Par Creative Museum
La complexité et le raffinement de la culture japonaise se traduit, au niveau de la coiffure, par d’innombrables outils de coiffeur. Nous disons “outil” car le mot “peigne” serait trop restrictif. En effet, pour dresser, draper, nouer les longs cheveux des Japonaises, il faut être coiffeur, mais aussi sculpteur, couturier, parfumeur et décorateur !
Il n’existe pas moins de 200 pièces de bois destinées à cet usage, toutes de formes différentes ; chacune porte un nom particulier et concerne les nombreuses variations des coiffures de geishas, de théâtre kabuki ou même de lutteurs sumo.
Les artisans qui autrefois réalisaient ces peignes, râteaux, fourchettes, égaliseurs, lisseurs, etc, ont maintenant disparu. Les meilleurs d’entre eux ne pouvaient produire plus de trois pièces par jour et le buis qu’ils utilisaient devait sécher au moins deux ans avant d’être travaillé. Cette belle tradition n’a pas survécu à notre monde moderne. Les outils de coiffeur qui subsistent sont donc à conserver précieusement. On est subjugué par la modernité de leurs lignes que ne désavoueraient pas les plus grands créateurs d’aujourd’hui.
On dit qu’un objet est parfait quand on ne peut plus rien lui enlever, ni rien lui rajouter. C’est vraiment le cas ici.
A group of different shape boxwood combs
Two dressing combs with its similar doll combs
Hairdresser doing a traditional Japanese hairstyle
