On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Horse comb
Unrecorded Haudenosaunee (Seneca) artist Native American
Not on view
Beginning in ancient times, Haudenosaunee artists carved effigy-decorated combs of wood, bone, and antler. It was customary to add handles carved as clan animals. The horse on this example may relate to the first appearance of European horses in Seneca country in the late 1600s. After the introduction of metal tools in the seventeenth century, the carvings became more elaborate, with finely cut comb teeth. The combs were worn by men, women, and children.
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