A fine and large carved floral design steer horn Spanish style hair comb

CONDITION: good vintage condition with expected wear

SIZE: 6¼ ins h x 4 ins w (15.5 x 10 cm) decorative part 3 ins h (7.5 cm)

APPROXIMATE DATE: 1870s – 1880s

MATERIALS: steer horn

DESCRIPTION:

Here is a beautifully carved Spanish style hair comb in dyed and clarified steer horn. It probably dates from the 1870s – 1880s when large hair combs were in fashion. The comb has a high wedge shaped heading finishing in a rising curve. It has an asymmetric design of open work carving which features formalised flowers between panels of carving in the ever popular “chain link” motif. The material has been clarified to render it translucent and dyed a lovely deep amber colour.

High topped combs like this were extremely popular in the later Victorian era during the 1870s and 1880s. This was due to the debut of the opera Carmen, which promoted a fashion for Spanish style combs with extremely tall headings.