Women's Ornamental Comb (hai kara jangga)
20th century, 1950–2000
Object PlaceEast Sumba, Nusa Tenggara (Lesser Sunda Islands), Indonesia
Medium/TechniqueTortoiseshell
DimensionsOverall: 16 x 18 x 5 cm (6 5/16 x 7 1/16 x 1 15/16 in.)
Lender accessory (Approximately): 16 x 20 x 5 cm (6 5/16 x 7 7/8 x 1 15/16 in.)
Lender accessory (Approximately): 16 x 20 x 5 cm (6 5/16 x 7 7/8 x 1 15/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Geneviève McMillan in memory of Reba Stewart
Accession number2009.2746
On View
Not on viewClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
Collections
Interest in ornaments and utilitarian objects from Indonesian arts grew strongly in the 1970s. Among such objects were delicate tortoiseshell diadems from eastern Sumba. The carved openwork upper register reveals a pair of roosters on top, confronting each other. The lower register features a kind of tree that served as village ritual sites. Fathers traditionally gave their daughters a tortoiseshell diadem at puberty.
ProvenanceAcquired in New York by Geneviève McMillan (b. 1922 - d. 2008), Cambridge, MA; 2008, to the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation, Cambridge; 2009, gift of the Geneviève McMillan and Reba Stewart Foundation to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 17, 2009)
19th–20th century
19th-20th Century
19th-20th century
