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Japanese Lacquer Comb Set with Shell and Silver Inlay browse these categories for related items... All Items: Vintage Arts:Regional Art:Asian:Japanese:Lacquer: Pre 1940: item # 1019018 Please refer to our stock # 11F-149 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book $395 Sale Pending |
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This lavishly decorated Japanese makie lacquer hair comb (“kushi”) and ornamental hair bar (“kogai”) set is decorated en suite and dates to the early half of the 20th century. The front side of the comb is painstakingly decorated with flowers in a garden setting, all done in gold hiramakie (flat lacquer), takamakie (raised lacquer) and nashiji (pearskin lacquer) on a rich black “roiro-nuri” lacquer ground. Roiro is a technique using the highest quality black urushi lacquer, applied and polished in several layers. It is only used on the highest quality lacquer items. The flower blossoms are distinguished by inlaid pieces of iridescent “aogai” or “raden” (abalone shell or mother of pearl) and silver.
The gilded garden fence runs along a stream, in which a gold lacquer bamboo water spout emerges. The gold lacquer decoration extends extensively into the tines and over onto the reverse side of the comb. This garden motif is also carried onto the kogai, where additional flower heads inlaid in shell and in silver are scattered among the gold lacquer decoration on both ends. To Japanese women, hair ornaments were much more than mere accessories to feminine hair-do and attire. The comb progressed from a utilitarian object to a highly decorative one on which craftsmen and artists lavished their imagination and skill. In keeping with their inclination to beautify even ordinary items of everyday use, the Japanese turned hair ornaments into extraordinary artistic objects that mirrored the cultural and social history of the period. They reflected the life and status of their wearers, who were geisha, courtesans, ladies in the court and women in their homes. In their own small way, combs and hairpins provide a miniature glimpse of the exceptional beauty of Japanese art. (See the wonderful article “Combs and Hairpins” by Sharon Ziesnitz and Takeguchi Momoko in DARUMA 35, Summer 2002.) CONDITION is excellent. There is the original wood holder lined with off-white silk into which the comb set fits. DIMENSIONS: Comb is 3 ½” (9 cm) x 1 ¾” (4.5 cm), hairpin is 6” (15.3 cm) long. |
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