87 Combs

Showcase
Three-layer Comb (1)
Wooden Comb (4)

Combs have been used for hair care since time immemorial. Three-layer combs, named after the tine plates clamped between two handle plates, have been around since the late Iron Age. Steep combs were probably used as tucking combs in hairdressing, but perhaps also as weaving or lice combs. Until modern times, combs were mainly made of bone. They were produced in large quantities by bone carvers, and waste from comb production can be found again and again in excavations in Hamburg's old town.

Info: Showcase 87

Three-layer Comb

Age: 900 - 1100 n. Chr. Middle Ages

Material: Animal Bone, Iron

Location: HH-Altstadt

Steep Comb

Age: 900 - 1100 n. Chr. Middle Ages

Material: Animal Bone

Location: HH-Altstadt

Comb

Age: 1800 - 1900 n. Chr. Modern period

Material: Rubber

Location: HH-Harburg

Comb

Comb

Age: 1700 - 1900 n. Chr. Modern period

Material: Wood

Location: HH-Harburg

Bone Waste of a Comb Maker's Workshop

Age: 900 - 1100 n. Chr. Middle Ages

Material: Animal Bone

Location: HH-Altstadt