Description
This is an antique Mantilla filigree hair comb, I believe it to be mid 1800s but you please be the judge if it could be earlier or later, it is hand made and unsigned, possibly sterling or a lesser grade of silver, it is somewhat heavy, but it is not marked as to metal content either, it does not stick to a magnet on any part of it, it could be of French origin but again with no marks, that is just a guess from the style of the work, the filigree work is exquisite as shown, there is some gold wash across the filigree but some areas dont appear to have it anymore, as shown it has natural aged patina and some discoloration on the filigree but I have not attemped to clean or polish it in any way, leaving that to the discretion of the new owner, the band below the filigree, above the tines, is hand engraved on the front and back and there are tiny engraved accents on the 4 corners and crest on the backside, the tiny rivets holding it together are hand engraved or tooled too, there are blue enamel accents on the 4 corners and one at the crest, the bottom corner ones are damaged but as shown they still are partially intact, the comb measures 6 1/2 inches wide at the top, but would be 8 inches if not bowed, the tines measure 2 3/4 inches long, the filigree area is 3 1/4 inches tall, the total height of the comb is 6 1/2 inches, the filigree is very good with only a few, 3 or 4, not obvious, tiny areas I question but again they could be original to the piece, please see all the pics and enlarge them as I want you to see everything about this, it is exquisite, not perfectly perfect, but very nice and most likely one of a kind, if you collect antique hair combs, you might like this one. Rest assured it will be well packaged for safe arrival to you, thanks for looking at my listing, email any questions, have a great day