Comb and Comb Case

This wooden comb and comb case were made in Shiraz, Persia during the 19th century.

The semicircular wooden comb is painted red and black and ornamented with gilt Persian inscriptions. The wooden comb case is D-shaped, with a hinged lid, on the inside of which is fitted a mirror. The case exterior is covered with a mosaic of minute pieces of white and coloured ivory, and brass, a technique known as 'khatamkari'.

In Muslim-Shiite Iran, mirrors always tended to be concealed within a container. This was to discourage vanity and avert the evil eye.

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