Oriental Carving

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The first two items for today are Chinese hair pins. The first is from my private collection and had been carved from one piece of tortoiseshell, the blonde part representing a bird. I believe the piece to be dated c. 1890.

The second hair pin is coral, Tang Dynasty (618-907), and carved in the form of a phoenix.

Our third item is an Indian ivory comb, made in Sri Lanka in the 18th Century. The woman is dancing to the music of panava instruments, perhaps drums and a flute, with parrots surrounding her. In Indian dancing, each pose conveys an emotional state during storytelling. Although the ivory is discolored, the carving is magnificent. These were luxury combs, which would be included in dowries. Both the phoenix Chinese hair pin and this Indian comb reside in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

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.



Jamaican Shell Combs and Case, 1688

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Similar sets of tortoiseshell H combs were produced in 17th-Century Jamaica. The French produced H combs in the 1400s for religious purposes, then as the Renaissance progressed the H-comb themes became love stories. In Turkmenistan, they still make silver H combs. The comb is made of wood, and the silver is decorated with carnelian and turquoise.

Jamaica was granted arms in 1662, seven years after the British conquered the island in 1655, and eight years before Spain officially recognized Britain’s claim to the island in 1670, the Treaty of Madrid.

As you can see one handle of the H broke off one of the combs, but the carving and its history is beautiful and museum-worthy. This set is estimated at $5,000 – $7,000.

Calder Brass Tiara

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Graduated vertical brass bands, with a spiral terminal on top, extend from a brass hoop. The tiara measures 21 1/4 inches. Calder chose flat metal as a major theme of his jewelry designs in brass, copper, silver and gold.

English art historian Sir Kenneth Clark purchased the piece for his wife at the Freddy Mayor Gallery in England in 1938.

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.



Tlingit Comb

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The Tlingit were a matrilineal society, who lived on the Southeastern Alaska Coast. Their religion was mostly Russian Orthodox. Tlingit Shamans wore combs and hairpins during ceremonies, as well as when they were not practicing tribal medicine. This wooden comb is polychrome, which means it is made with many colors, and it is decorated with spirit helpers and crest emblems. It sold at Sotheby’s for $146,500, and is 9 3/4″ tall.

$4000 what?

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This beautiful 18K-gold, pearl, and lapis Victorian crown-shaped tiara on a tortoiseshell comb is a magnificent example of period artwork, c.1850. However, it is selling on Ruby Lane for $4850. There is the slightest of damage to the last tine on the right, but I don’t think it devalues the piece. But $4850? I guess it’s a Sotheby’s price. The enamel comb I showed a few posts down sold at Sotheby’s for 9375 GBP. Good luck to the dealer. It is beautiful.

Alexander Calder Barrette

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Just after the Allies won the Second World War, John and Ruth Boland acquired this Alexander Calder brooch/barette at the Paris Exhibition in Washington, DC. The year was 1944. Calder started making jewelry in the 1940’s, and of course hair ornaments were included. The inventiveness of these small pieces later influenced his larger works. This brooch/barrette sold in 2006 for $192,000 at Sothebys.

Two Lovely Things on Ebay

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A revival tiara with three enamel portraits of 15th-century women, hinged to a faux tortoiseshell comb sold for $496 on July 1. The portraits were framed in silver in the middle of a highly ornamented silver tiara with paste red and blue stones. It was a beautiful Victorian Renaissance Revival piece, c. 1870.



There is also a 14K gold eagle, signed P Brandt, hinged to a three-pronged tortoiseshell hair pin in its original box.