Spanish style vintage hair comb with enamel decoration on pierced metal

CONDITION: good vintage condition with accepted wear

SIZE: 5½ ins h x 4 ins w (14 x 10 cm) decorative part 2½ ins h (6 cm)

APPROXIMATE DATE: 1980s

MATERIALS: metal, enamel

DESCRIPTION:

A very pretty vintage Spanish style hair comb made in gold coloured metal. It has an openwork repousee heading which is decorated with a design in pale green enamel.

It has three large and sturdy split prongs to secure it in the hair.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

Spanish or mantilla style is a name generally given to any comb with has a high upstanding heading. However the true Spanish comb is an ornament worn in Spain and other Spanish speaking countries and has a high stand top which is draped with a lace veil. In the past such veils were worn when attending church, and others formal events. Although the use of these high combs and mantilla veils declined in Spain during the 20th century the growth of the Spanish tourist industry in the 1960s led to a new interest in Spanish costume, music and dance. Large combs are now popular souvenirs with tourists.

They are worn in a characteristic manner, being placed in the side or back of the hairdressing, sometimes at an acute angle, and in such a way that the tall heading stood up proud. This enables the often beautiful openwork decoration or the decorative effect which had been applied to the material, to be viewed from all angles, and for the details to be seen effectively outlined against the light. This manner of wearing the decorative comb is shown in the accompanying photograph on the mannequin and in the collage picture which is compiled from several sources.