Comb case with two wig combs

Paul Bennett

1685 · Turtle shell, silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This comb case with two combs is richly but simply decorated. It was made in 1685 in Port Royal, Jamaica, which was then Britain’s wealthiest colony. It is a rather poignant expression of a painful cultural moment. Bought with wealth generated by enslaved Africans, it embodies the English appreciation of Jamaica’s glorious natural history and the simultaneous savaging of it. At once precious and humble, it reflects the resourcefulness of local merchants who devised a product that was portable, inscribable, and at least somewhat useful (a wig comb in two sizes, one for the wig the other for lice).

Artist

Paul Bennett

Date

1685

Medium

Turtle shell, silver

Culture

Jamaican, Port Royal

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Purchase, Bequest of John L. Cadwalader, by exchange, 2018