Coptic Comb, Byzantine Period, Egypt 4th - 7th Century

Double-row comb, the large, widely spaced teeth were used to untangle the hair, and the finer, tighter ones were used to smooth and style it. It is decorated in the center with a peacock, its beak symbolically buried in its plumage. This openwork figure is delimited in a rectangular frame decorated with engraved concentric motifs. This type of comb appears from the Greek era throughout the Mediterranean world. It was used for toilet purposes, probably offered as a wedding gift and accompanied by animal symbols personifying the transition from polytheistic to monotheistic religions. In Roman times, the peacock was the emblem of glory and incorruptibility. Christian symbolists made the peacock the emblem of immortality which one arrives at through resurrection, it is a sign of renewal and eternal life. Indeed, Saint Augustine recalls the belief in the incorruptibility of the peacock, he proposes it as an emblem of immortality; which, however, applies to the complete human being, body and soul, implicitly includes the prior idea of resurrection. It was noted, as many scholars have explained, that in the catacombs, the peacock often accompanies motifs or scenes that are very clear allusions to the dogma of resurrection and immortality. Wooden comb, some teeth on the upper part with chips at their end, marks of time. No restoration, good general state of conservation. Coptic Egypt, early Christian church, Byzantine period 4th to 7th century. Dimensions: 13.5 x 6.3 cm, with base: 14.5 cm Provenance: old private Parisian collection, constituted in the 1950s-70s after succession. Sold with certificate of authenticity from expert Serge Reynes Guarantee of origin and period * Shipping costs on estimate.