Comb

1929.06.0003

Object Image
Detailed Images

Basic Information

Artifact Identification Comb   (1929.06.0003)
Classification/
Nomenclature
  1. Personal Artifacts
  2. :
  3. Toilet Articles
  4. :
  5. Hair Care Artifacts
Artist/Maker Unknown
Geographic Location
Period Renaissance
Date 15th – 16th century?
Culture French

Physical Analysis

Dimension 1 (Length) 13.5 cm
Dimension 2 (Width) 10.6 cm
Dimension 3 (Depth) 0.5 cm
Weight 67 g
Measuring Remarks N/A
Materials Animal--Tooth--Ivory
Manufacturing Processes Carved

Research Remarks

Description

"One side is carved on a hatched ground with the Adoration of the Kings, including the figure of Joseph at the left. The reverse shows a broadly carved Annunciation, the angel with spreading wings and a decorative looping scroll. The Virgin kneels at a prayer desk with a pendant curtain above.
There are considerable traces of polychromy in green and gold on the ground planes and figures, and the star of the Annunciation was apparently yellow. A crack in the comb bisects the middle king on one side and the angel's head on the other; the damage was once repaired with pins.
Notes: Combs from the same workshop, many with secular subjects, include one with morris dancers and a hunting scene (Longhurst, vol. 2, no. 230-1867) and one with jousting and bathing scenes (Waning Middle Ages, no. 85)." -Richard H. Randall Jr., The Golden Age of Ivory: Gothic Carvings in North American Collections (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 1993), 114.

Published Description Under Review
Bibliography

Randall, Richard H., Jr. The Golden Age of Ivory. Gothic Carvings in North American Collections (New York, 1993), pp. 8, 10, 114.

"Images in ivory," Heritage Oct. 1988, pp. 3-4

Artifact History

Credit Line/Dedication Purchase
Reproduction No

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