A typical late Victorian mourning comb or hair pin set with French jet

CONDITION: good vintage condition with expected wear

SIZE: 4 ins h x 1½ ins w (10 x 3 cm)

APPROXIMATE DATE: 1890s – 1900s

MATERIALS: celluloid, French jet

DESCRIPTION:

Simple two pronged hair accessories like this were worn throughout the Victorian and later Edwardian periods, often in pairs. This attractive accessory is made in glossy black celluloid with a simple loop shaped heading which is closely encrusted in stones of “French jet”.  It may have been worn for mourning.

Simple two pronged hair accessories like these are characteristically made in one solid piece of the material, which might be horn, metal, or some synthetic like celluloid. They usually have only one or two tines and their top or heading made in a simple shape such as a horseshoe or rectangle, sometimes with the addition of rhinestones or a little openwork decoration.