Comb, anonymous, c. 1800 - c. 1830
sawing, h c.19.5cm × w c.19.0cm × d c.5.5cm More details
This comb is made of the rare and highly prized ‘blond tortoiseshell’, the belly plate of a turtle. It differs from regular ‘tortoiseshell’, which is made of the back plates. Blond tortoiseshell is amber coloured and not mottled. Like horn, tortoiseshell can split, as happened to this comb. The teeth were at some point repaired with little metal casings.
