Comb thumbnail 1
Comb thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery

Comb

about 1906 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Joseph Hodel of the Bromsgrove Guild designed this comb. He showed it at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1906 in London, where it was probably bought by May Morris. She was the younger daughter of the artist and socialist William Morris and was also showing her own jewellery.The comb is set with colourful cabochon-cut (dome-shaped) stones, as was much Arts and Crafts jewellery.
The Arts and Crafts movement developed in the middle of the 19th century and lasted well into the 20th. Its followers disliked industrial production and the heavy and excessive decoration of the time. They wanted a return to traditional hand-crafted methods of manufacture, appropriate ornament and fresh, unpretentious design.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Ivory, mounted in silver and set with mother-of-pearl, sapphires, green stained chalcedony and a fire opal matrix
Brief description
Comb, ivory mounted in silver, set with mother of pearl and coloured stones. English, about 1906. Made by Joseph Hodel of the Bromsgrove Guild.
Physical description
Four toothed ivory comb with spreading silver back in the form of foliage set with mother-of-pearl, sapphires, green stained chalcedony and a fire opal matrix.
Dimensions
  • Height: 4.3in
  • Width: 2.875in
  • Depth: 0.9cm
Credit line
Given by Miss Vivian Lobb
Production
Signed by Joseph Hodel.
Summary
Joseph Hodel of the Bromsgrove Guild designed this comb. He showed it at the Arts and Crafts Exhibition in 1906 in London, where it was probably bought by May Morris. She was the younger daughter of the artist and socialist William Morris and was also showing her own jewellery.The comb is set with colourful cabochon-cut (dome-shaped) stones, as was much Arts and Crafts jewellery.
The Arts and Crafts movement developed in the middle of the 19th century and lasted well into the 20th. Its followers disliked industrial production and the heavy and excessive decoration of the time. They wanted a return to traditional hand-crafted methods of manufacture, appropriate ornament and fresh, unpretentious design.
Collection
Accession number
M.18-1939

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Record createdMarch 14, 2003
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