Product Description

Antique Sumatran Comb

Material: Brass, buffalo horn
Style: Sumatra, Indonesia
Size: Height 6 cm, Width 11.5 cm
Order Number: MHSASC1

In the 19th century most Indonesian women wore their hair tied up in a tight bun. Rich women wore decorative combs, such as this one to hold their hair in place.

The design can be traced back to Southern China and they came to be popular across much of island Southeast Asia, as far as Timor. They were worn until well into the 20th century.

There are similar examples in Gold Jewellery of the Indonesian Archipelago, Anne Richter and Bruce Carpenter, Editions Didier Millet 2011, pages 319-321.

19th – early 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).