Comb (Hair - grooming tool)

AF875

From: Zaire | Kasai District | Belgian Congo

Curatorial Section: African

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Object Number AF875
Current Location Collections Storage
Culture Bashilele
Provenience Zaire | Kasai District | Belgian Congo
Section African
Materials Wood
Technique Carved
Description

Wooden comb with twelve long, thin teeth. Both the handle and base of the comb are of woven plant fiber in dark and light colors.

Worn thrust into a top knot of hair, the nape of the neck and the front of the head above the forehead being shaved. A cord is tied around the base of the top knot. Very similiar designs are used in wood-carving by the Bushongo and the Bashilele. The latter are an independent branch of the former people.

Similiar to AF874.

Length 29.5 cm
Width 8.9 cm
Credit Line Purchased from J. F. G. Umlauff, 1912
Other Number 432 - Other Number

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