Comb
1800-1867 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. In the south of Italy the main material used to add a red colour to jewellery was coral, but in the north jewellers often used garnets.
In the south of Italy, particularly in those places which had been under Spanish rule, many women wore decorative combs in their hair. These combs were not restricted to traditional costume, and would have been worn just as readily with fashionable dress. This comb was acquired in Parma, in the north of Italy, where combs were not part of traditional costume.
It was bought for £1 16s as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
In the south of Italy, particularly in those places which had been under Spanish rule, many women wore decorative combs in their hair. These combs were not restricted to traditional costume, and would have been worn just as readily with fashionable dress. This comb was acquired in Parma, in the north of Italy, where combs were not part of traditional costume.
It was bought for £1 16s as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gilt metal with garnet beads |
| Brief description | Gilt metal comb with garnet decoration, Parma (Italy), 1800-1867. |
| Physical description | Comb, with numerous metal wire teeth, slightly curved, and decorative head across the top of the teeth. The head is made of pierced gilt metal, with a stamped floral pattern. Ten facetted garnet beads are mounted along the top, with a larger similar bead at each end. |
| Dimensions |
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| Summary | The dominant colours in Italian traditional jewellery are red and gold. In the south of Italy the main material used to add a red colour to jewellery was coral, but in the north jewellers often used garnets. In the south of Italy, particularly in those places which had been under Spanish rule, many women wore decorative combs in their hair. These combs were not restricted to traditional costume, and would have been worn just as readily with fashionable dress. This comb was acquired in Parma, in the north of Italy, where combs were not part of traditional costume. It was bought for £1 16s as part of the Castellani collection of Italian Peasant Jewellery at the International Exhibition, Paris, 1867. |
| Bibliographic reference | 'Italian Jewellery as worn by the Peasants of Italy', Arundel Society, London, 1868, Plate 2 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 329-1868 |
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| Record created | May 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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