This over-the-top Victorian Sterling silver comb intricately decorated with oak leaves and acorns, with an oval plaque carving of a house with trees at the base, sold for $576 on April 17. You may refer to auction #200215230724.
This 18K gold and blonde tortoiseshell Victorian hairpin is selling for $780 on Ruby Lane, high, but for those with classic, as opposed to flamboyant taste, I like it.
By Susan Maxwell Schmidt, hair jewelry artist extraordinaire and owner and creator of Longlocks Hair Sticks, for me the best modern hair jewelry artist on the market.
She wrote, “I am a self-described “geisha expert.” Geishas were NEVER prostitutes. NEVER. During the world wars there were women who CLAIMED to soldiers to be geishas who were prostitutes, but true geishas.. NEVER.
Geishas must be practiced in all the arts to the level of perfection, and spend several years as maikos learning the intricacies of music (both instruments and vocals), dance and conversation.
Also, while some women in the past were forced bytheir families to become geishas, being a geisha has ALWAYS been a *great* honor, and those who still practice the art are held in the same esteem as the most famous and accomplished movie stars are here… and are even more inaccessible by the “common man.”
You cannot be entertained by geisha unless you have reached a level high enough to be invited to enjoy their company, no matter who you are.
Oh, and most Asian communities do not think it is suitable to smile in photographs, even today. I sponsor a little girl in Thailand and I don’t have one photograph of her smiling because they consider photographs to be such a “special event” that it would be unheard of to appear any way but with the utmost propriety.”
These photographs were taken in 1890. You may refer to auctions #260077851984 and 260077841975.
For the Italian ladies, who knows if their marriages were arranged to older men by their parents for financial or political reasons, which means they had to sleep with men who might have repulsed them, too. We will never know the pain behind the pearls.
This is a portrait by Lavinia Fontana, 1552-1614. The lady is wearing a sumptuous yellow silk dress, lace collar, pearl necklace, and pearls in her hair.
This portrait of a lady is from the Neopolitan School in the early 18th Century. The lady is believed to be Francesca Gornia, wife of Francesco del Veglia. She is wearing a red embroidered dress with a beautiful red ribbon in her hair.
LC Tiffany designed 3 Queen Anne’s Lace hair ornaments, one of which is in the Metropolitan Museum. It is made of silver, copper, opals, demantoid garnets, garnets, and enamel and is 3 1/2 inches in diameter. Like Lalique, Tiffany favored the common forms of nature, and did 3 of these ornaments to show the flower at different stages of bloom. 
Another common form of nature is the fish pond with goldfish in it. I happen to have one, and goldfish are feisty creatures with a lot of personality. Here is Lalique drawing one, which is giving its opinion of being trapped in a comb. “I don’t want anything to do with this!” the goldfish says, as the butterfly flies away.
Recently a gorgeous Meiji ivory Japanese kushi whose intertwining dragons had diamond eyes did not sell for $400. It has the typical Meiji characteristic of the carving folding over the top of the comb. You may refer to auction #270224867132.
There was also a complete set of what I think are 10 Edo ivory combs, decorated with gold inlay, to wear, and also cleaning items like a shoe horn and a tooth brush. Some teeth were missing on the combs, the gold inlay is worn on some combs, and it belonged to a famous NYC fashion designer. I have never seen anything like it. It was selling for $1295. 
I just received a lovely post from lotusgreen, who does the Japonisme blog, with a French hair comb to die for. I would like to thank lotusgreen for emailing me her blog post so I could put it up on my blog. Enjoy! Paul and Henri Vever horn comb with gold and pearls, which resides at the Musée des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. For my Japanese comparison, I’m going to choose this Meiji tortoiseshell comb, designed with languishing leaves and pearls in its flowers, which resides in the Mikimoto Museum.
Also, because I can’t help myself, I’m putting up an image of a lalique plum blossom comb lotusgreen gave me, too. Made of horn with a gold hinge, it looks like the blossoms were dyed blue. For the Japanese part, I’m just putting up two of my favorite Edo combs ever. Not really a comparison, but what do you bet Rene saw them at that famous Paris Exhibition of 1867, where the two forces of art came together?
Sandy over at Ruby Lane said there was a storm over this comb, and having finally received it, I can imagine why. There are just no words to describe how beautiful it is, and how much I love it. But I also did a little research on the manufacturer because he was a Jew from New York City, and my family emigrated on the boats to see the Statue of Liberty and escape the Cossacks in the shtetels of Russia.
F J Kaldenberg’s father started a meerschaum pipe business in 1858, his son took over in 1869. They made pipes, canes, and ivory goods. From this historical article in the New York Times written on April 8, 1893, the business failed.
If you look at the label, it looks like P J Kaldenberg, but I know it’s F J from this quote in the article, “Mr. Kaldenberg has three stores situated on Nassau Streets and Fulton and Cliff Streets and at East Astor Place.” All of these locations are listed on the label of the box accompanying my ivory comb. How many combs would this company have made? I can’t imagine a lot. But given the three locations on the label, I’d have to date this c. 1869 – 1893. Here are pictures of the label, the comb itself, and the dresser my treasure will sit on. I’m glad another Jewish Princess from New York City has it. :-)
I’m keeping the box closed on my dresser to avoid discoloration to the ivory. I will have fun opening the box and looking at this piece of history in wonder.
From Michelle Rowan’s website, “Fine quality carved tortoiseshell comb, featuring bacchante heads in profile, circa 1880.The cameos are carved in high-relief and set to a background of floral motifs and stylised sea-creatures. The comb measures 13 cm by 13 cm [ 5 inches by 5 inches] and is in immaculate condition.” I’m basically so emotional now I can’t even write my own copy. Michelle is a cameo specialist, so when she chooses a cameo, it’s always beautiful. Oh price? Little detail. 1500 UKP, $3001.64.
There was just a live auction for a seed pearl tiara with earrings and a broach, which went for $375. I didn’t win, in fact I don’t even see my bid registered, but I LOVED this 1820’s London tiara in its original box. Someone on the auction floor won it. You may refer to auction #350035825568.
This beautiful Sterling silver peigne Josephine comb has the makers mark K&J and a number 61. The dealer was told the maker was German. If anyone knows this jeweler, please comment. It was listed at a starting price of $500 and went unsold. You may refer to auction #150221468241.
This Auguste Bonaz art deco comb went for $169.19. In French Ivory, it’s just lovely. You may refer to auction #150223853167
And last this evening, I loved this Edo kogai stick. Such beautiful ornate decoration of a beautiful bird in a cherry blossom tree. Such perspective throughout the stick. It sold for $301.52. You may refer to auction #350036232675.
Since we are having a discussion about Chinese hair ornaments, I found a rare book on amazon.com called Kingfisher Blue by Beverley Jackson. In it, one of the featured collectors, Eric Zhuang from Taipei, Taiwan, shares three images from the book, which come from his own collection. In the Ming Dynasty, these headdresses were worn by empresses and imperial concubines. In the Qing Dynasty, they were worn by civilian women during the wedding ceremony. Here are Eric’s three Kingfisher Phoenix Coronets from the Late Qing Dynasty. The entire Qing Dynasty was from 1644-1911.
A sea captain brought this home from China for his wife. She never wore it but told her daughter about it, and kept it in a cedar chest her whole life. Her daughter, now 71, was selling it because she was about to move in with her own daughter. I bought it for $178.50 You may refer to auction #200202852076. I have no way to tell you how my breath was taken away when I opened the box. Coral, jade, kingfisher feathers. I thought maybe it was one of a pair of ornaments from a wedding set for a princess of the Imperial Palace. Each ornament would be on one side of a stick. Can anyone date this? The ornateness of the design seems earlier than 1920 to me, but I’m not sure.
