Horse comb
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Beginning in ancient times, Haudenosaunee artists carved effigy-decorated combs of wood, bone, and antler. It was customary to add handles carved as clan animals. The horse on this example may relate to the first appearance of European horses in Seneca country in the late 1600s. After the introduction of metal tools in the seventeenth century, the carvings became more elaborate, with finely cut comb teeth. The combs were worn by men, women, and children.
Artwork Details
- Title: Horse comb
- Artist: Unrecorded Haudenosaunee (Seneca) artist
- Date: ca. 1670–87
- Geography: United States, New York
- Culture: Haudenosaunee (Seneca)
- Medium: Moose or elk antler
- Dimensions: H. 4 1/4 × W. 2 7/8 in. (10.8 × 7.3 cm)
- Classification: Bone/Ivory-Implements
- Credit Line: Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection, Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY (T0024)
- Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing