BC/AD Sculpture Ancient to Modern
BC/AD Sculpture Ancient to Modern
FRENCH, PROBABLY 15TH/ 16TH CENTURY | COMB
Lot Closed
July 9, 02:34 PM GMT
Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
FRENCH, PROBABLY 15TH/ 16TH CENTURY
COMB
boxwood
inscribed: de bon [heart] / donne and: qui de [heart] / cyme ('with a good heart given' and (probably) 'whose heart I love')
10 by 15cm., 4 by 5⅞in.
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The present comb compares closely with examples in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 1982.357) and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 2147-1855). Boxwood combs of this type were produced widely in the 15th and 16th centuries and are thought to have been made primarily in France, as is indicated by the amorous French inscriptions found on many of them, including the present example.
RELATED LITERATURE
W. D. Wixom (ed.), Mirror of the Medieval World, exh. cat. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1999, p. 211, no. 529