Object Details
- Label Text
- Probably from the Chokwe related Lwena peoples, this comb features a female head. It displayed the elaborate cushion hairstyle that would need combs and reflects the woman's status. The imported brass tack is another embellishment associated with wealth and status.
- Description
- Comb with eight teeth surmounted by human head in profile and bearing incised design on the front and back. Head has tack at front of the elaborately carved coiffure and simple coffee bean eyes.
- Provenance
- William Brill, New York, -- to 1968
- Exhibition History
- The Language of African Art, Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution Fine Arts & Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., May 24-September 7, 1970, nos. 395-396
- Published References
- Museum of African Art. 1970. The Language of African Art, A Guest Exhibition of the Museum of African Art at the Smithsonian Institution Fine Arts & Portrait Gallery Building. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, no. 395-396 (not illustrated).
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Lwena artist
- Date
- Early 20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of William Brill
- Medium
- Wood, tack
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 17.1 x 5.6 x 1.7 cm (6 3/4 x 2 3/16 x 11/16 in.)
- Type
- Sculpture
