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Comb

15th or 16th century
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 02
Combs and other personal grooming implements were often included in bridal trousseaux during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in Italy. In 1474, for example, Caterina Pico da Carpi had seven ivory combs in her wedding trousseau. This one is decorated on both sides with animals and birds, and the center of one side has the amorous device of a flaming heart.

Combs were very much part of the pictorial imagery of the beautiful woman, not always in a virtuous context. The comb was also considered a privileged object in that it could touch the beloved directly. This idea was expressed in poetry as a metaphor for much-desired intimacy.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Comb
  • Date: 15th or 16th century
  • Culture: French or Italian
  • Medium: Elephant ivory, paint and gilding
  • Dimensions: Overall: 3 7/16 x 5 1/16 x 3/16 in. (8.8 x 12.9 x 0.4 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Elephant
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.245
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Comb, Boxwood inlaid with bone, and decorated with red and green silk, French (?)
Comb
French (?)
15th–16th century
Double-Sided Comb, Elephant ivory, Frankish
Double-Sided Comb
Frankish
7th century
Saint Margaret of Antioch, Alabaster, with traces of gilding, French
Saint Margaret of Antioch
French
ca. 1475
Virgin and Child, Claus de Werve Netherlandish, Limestone with paint and gilding, French
Virgin and Child
Claus de Werve
ca. 1415–17
Saddle, Bovine bone (body of saddle), deer antler and bone (decorative elements), limewood, rawhide, birchbark, and metal paint, Central European
Saddle
Central European
ca. 1400–1420

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