Tenth Century Bone Comb Recreation with Period Paint and Bag

 Bone Comb

Muirenn inghean Uí Cléirigh

2024

Where combs are found, archaeologists and historians find the society of a culture: they  interpret that the previous owner cared about their appearance.  While combs have been made from several materials (antler, horn, wood), bone is common for its strength and carvability. (3)  The comb created for this display was inspired by a find from Knowth, Co. Meath (fig.1), and is a single piece comb (“ci”) with no side plates.  This style comb had dimensions of 41-56 mm in length. 35-43 mm in depth and between 4-5mm thickness with short tines. (1). Based on similar finds, it is estimated to be from the 7th-10th C. AD. (2) In early period (before the 11th C.) there were also references to comb bags (ci orbholg, “keer-wolg” {7,9) and these were highly prized among women along with their distaffs.  (1)  

Process:  This bone was acquired from our local butcher and after the dogs had cleaned the flesh and marrow to the best of their abilities, the rest was placed in the ground to let worms and grubs finish the cleaning process.  When I was ready to carve, I retrieved it and cleaned the remaining dirt.  In the “Trials of Ireland” mentioned by Dunlevy, comb-makers were known to leave their materials in the dung heap to keep it soft until it was time to carve. (1) Only the outside of any bone or antler can be used for this type of carving as the center is either too soft or porous. (3)

Since I don’t yet have hand carving tools (period files and saws), I did use a Dremel (and  modern eye and lung protection) to carve the comb.  This took several hours with an electric tool, so I can only imagine how long it took  with hand tools.  While a pronged drill would have been used to get the circle engravings, I did as similar shapes and designs as I could based on the findings in Ireland.  The length of the tines are curious to me, but after some experimentation, we found that it worked perfectly as beard comb.  It could function for long hair, but not as well as a comb with longer tines.    I utilized motifs from Irish comb finds in my design. (Fig 2.)

 

 

After carving, I polished all edges of the bone and gave it a thorough cleaning.  To further decorate, I prepared pigments.  The ochre was harvested from the ground near our home. This was one of the earliest pigments used, and is found as a silicate compound in clay beds. (6) The verdigris was made by suspending copper wire over a basic (high pH) solution.  I used ammonia, but stale urine was often used in period.  Alternately, a more green pigment can be produced by following the same process over an acid like vinegar.  (5)  After left for a few weeks, I could scrape the pigment powder from the wire.  And finally the bone black was made from the trimmings from the comb.  After fully sealing them from air, I left them in the fire for a few hours.  This charcoalized the bone and I could then crush it into a pigment powder. (4) All pigments were then mulled with quail egg white.  This strengthens the paint and allows it to seal to some extent.  Although some bone from historical artifacts has been stained, I was unable to locate examples of painted bone.  However, the carved wells hold the egg tempura so perfectly, it seemed the logical next step in decor.

With the comb completed, I cut and sewed a simple comb bag, or ciorbholg, for it from leather and sinew. I created it very simply so the comb would fit snuggly into it.  Since none of the comb bags have been identified in archaeological excavations, I did some assuming with this design.  I wanted it snug enough that the comb would not easily fall out.  Many pouches of this time included a drawstring or a flap, but there are some examples of open topped bags from Gokstad and Birka.  (8,9)

Now I can add this as part of my eleventh century Irish garb. Or, perhaps since it seems to work better as a beard comb with its short tines than long hair, my husband Eoghan will wear it with his kit, as these combs were known to be worn by both men and women.  In the future I would also like to attempt a longer comb, perhaps with scales or folds.  Possibly, eventually I could graduate to more period tools as well.   

 

Resources

1. Dunlevy, M.  (1988) JSTOR.  “Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy: Archaeology, Culture, History, Literature.  Vol. 88C, pp. 341-422.  Last visited 2-29-24 from https://www.jstor.org/stable/25516048?seq=5
2. Bermingham, N “Fermanagh in 100 Objects: The Drumclay Bird Headed Comb.”  Last visited 2-29-24 from https://www.enniskillencastle.co.uk/media/34463/Drumclay-Bird-Headed-Comb-Research-Report.pdf
3. Levin, B. (3-31-2003) Regia Anglorum Publications.  “Bone and Antler Working”. Last viewed 2-29-24 from https://regia.org/research/life/bonework.htm
4. Cochran, C. (2024) “Bone Black: The Deepest Black” Last viewed 2-29-24 from https://christophercochran.me/color-history/bone-black/
5. Douma, M.  (2001).  “Pigments through the Ages: Verdigris”. Last viewed 2-29-24 from https://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/overview/verdigris.html
6. Douma, M.  (2001).  “Pigments through the Ages: Yellow Ochre”. Last viewed 2-29-24 from https://www.webexhibits.org/pigments/indiv/overview/yellowochre.html
7. Archaeological Consultancy Service (2024), ACSU in Archaeology Ireland.  Last visited 3-6-24 from https://archaeologicalconsultancyservices.ie/acsu-in-archaeology-ireland/
8. Vikings Wiki (5-22-2020) Pouches.  Last visited 3-7-24 from https://wiki.vikingsonline.org.uk/Pouches *** Not that this had references to the Swedish History Museum whose page I could not translate or search in English
9. Bartlett, S. (2006)  “Early Gaelic Dress: An Introduction”— pg 17.  Last visited 3-7-24 from http://www.coblaith.net/EarlyGaelicDress/EarlyGaelicDress10col.pdf
10. Riddler, I. and Trzaska-Nartowski, N. (2013)  “The Insular Comb” (from Early Medieval Art and Archaeology in the Northern World.). last visited 3-7-24 from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=taSGEAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA259&dq=Medieval+Irish+comb&ots=zaV1VHVFRB&sig=wxH5ACH6z6_g2K3ztyZjKrOilOk#v=onepage&q=Medieval Irish comb&f=false