This tortoiseshell, late Edo era comb has been painted with black lacquer. The artist uses Togidashi maki-e to create an image of flowers on the edge of a lake. Its reflection can be seen on the comb’s tines. Both sides are identical, and the comb is 11 cm wide and 3 mm thick. For reference,… Continue Reading
This comb’s lavish mother-of-pearl decoration would have appealed not only to Japanese tastes during the Taisho period but also to lovers of Art Nouveau. Continue Reading
This late Edo period comb is made of wood, which has been lacquered, gilded, and sprinkled with maki-e. A silver rim and attached tassels complete the piece. Maki-e refers to lacquer sprinkled with gold or silver powder, using special brushes. Continue Reading
The ornamental frame of this tortoiseshell comb is made from gilt open-work silver showing flowers on each side. Three swiveling corals grace the centre of each flower. Continue Reading
These bracelets were part of the exhibition “TREASURE SHIPS: ART IN THE AGE OF SPICES,” presented by the Art Gallery of South Australia in both Adelaide and Perth during 2015-16. They come from the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra. Continue Reading
This Nepalese carved ivory comb shows Shiva (left) and Uma, his consort (right) in intimate togetherness. Shiva holds his trident above Uma’s head, and Uma, who belongs to the lotus family, is identified by a lotus on a stem at her shoulder. Continue Reading
This belt is from Kubachi, Daghestan. Literature: Jewellery from the Orient: Treasures from the Dr. Bir Collection, p. 275, shows two belts with just such a semi-circular clasp as specifically coming from Kubachi. Kubachi produced large numbers of enamelled pieces of jewelry. The Daghestani smiths were fabled for their fine work, which we see in… Continue Reading
The crown which is the main component of the piece, at the top, was probably originally used to decorate the head of an image. Michael Backman’s example in the bottom photo is captioned “Gilt Copper & Rock Crystal Ganapati (Tsog Dak or Ganesh), Nepal/Tibet, 19th century.” Our crown apparently came to be separated from the… Continue Reading
This neck ring from the Ono Niha people on the island of Nias, Indonesia, is very light and thin, making it eminently wearable even though it is 29 cm in width. Because it made such a powerful impression, it was only worn by noblemen. The most expensive nifato-fatos were made entirely of gold. If an… Continue Reading
