1969.S.142 Comb with seated figure

Artists use great skill and imagination when fashioning African combs in materials such as wood, bone, or ivory. The spines, or handles, are decorated with carved motifs and precious metals, including locally mined gold and imported brass. The earliest extant African combs were found in ancient Egyptian tombs and are thousands of years old. Several combs excavated at Dawu in Ghana date to the 17th century, which also corresponds to the earliest European accounts of African combs. Most wooden combs that have survived tropical climate conditions date from the 19th century.

This comb is decorated with a seated figure of indeterminate gender carved in full relief. The figure's elbows rest on its knees in an attitude of contemplation. Although the comb may have originated among either the Chokwe or Lwena peoples, the hairstyle is similar to those on Lwena face masks representing females.

Combs were emblems of status among the Chokwe peoples. Those made of wood or ivory with spines decorated with carved figures and abstract patterns were more valuable than unadorned wooden combs or those made from cane or wires. A woman usually acquired sculpted combs as gifts from family, male admirers, or her husband to mark important events in the life cycle. Decorated Chokwe combs were heirlooms handed down from generation to generation in the belief that the spirit of the original owner inhabited the object.

n.d.: Clark and Frances Stillman Collection, Dallas, Texas/New York

1969: Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, gift of Eugene and Margaret McDermott [1]

[1] The name of the Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, founded in 1933, was changed to the Dallas Museum of Art in 1983.

Apply to objects where number equals 1969.S.142