Hair Comb

Among the earliest African objects acquired by the Art Institute was a set of combs, purchased in 1924 for its Children’s Museum. Though upon arrival the combs were registered simply as “African,” stylistic analysis suggests that they probably came from the Belgian Congo, the present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo. Made of thin wooden slats beautifully bound together with decorative lashings, they were among the Art Institute’s first African pieces.