Not on display

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.

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
  • Height: 11.2cm
  • Width: 18.4cm
  • Depth: 5.3cm
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 createdMay 1, 2009
Record URL
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