Indonesian Hai Kara Jangga Ornamental Comb Diadem

Two birds face off across a ladder of openings, with the rest of the comb keeping a dignified silence.

This Hai Kara Jangga ornamental comb diadem is from Sumba, Indonesia, and dates to the late 19th / early 20th century. Sumbanese openwork combs are usually described as marks of status, their cut crests drawn from a shared vocabulary of animals, ancestors and emblems of wealth. On this smaller example the crest is pierced with a pair of birds flanking a stack of rounded slots. The body is dark and glossy, banded with dotted incised lines, and lighter amber shows through where the material thins. It is 5.25 inches wide and 5.88 high.

Small, dark and still entirely in charge.