Hair Combs of the Art Deco Period: part 2 (Oriental)

In this, the second of myguides to the gebs and hair accessories of the Art Deco period, I examine some of the more exotic influences which contributed to the development of thestyle. In particular the discussion covers various Middle Eastern and Oriental manifestations, and how they affected the design of ornamental hair gebs during the 1920s.In Art Deco part 1 I traced the origins of the style from a previous design movement known as Art Nouveau. However Art Deco was an eclectic movement, which gathered in elements from a number of different milieus. Some of the most important originated in various Middle Eastern and Oriental lands.
The Egyptian InfluenceOne of the most important influences upon the early Art Deco period was the taste for ornaments in the spirit of the Arabian Nights or of ancient Egypt. This was partly due to the fashion influence of couture designers like Paul Poiret, whose harem evening dresses were inspired by the costumes of the Russian Ballet. The ballet gave its first public performance in 1909, and its performance of the Arabian Nights fantasy Scheherazade took the capitals of Europe by storm. This led to a taste for jewellery and ornaments in what fashion designers felt to be the Oriental mode, This taste for the exotic in personal ornaments was given a fresh impetus by the discovery of the tomb of the boy king Tutankhamen in the early 1920s. The stunning treasures revealed there were an inspiration to designers working in media of all forms. The development of early Hollywood films also encouraged the Egyptian look when various historical and biblical epics reached the silver screen. In particular Theda Bara took the role of Cleopatra in 1917 and Claudette Colbert played the same part in 1934. These exotic Egyptian ornaments provided an ideal theme for costume jewellery and personal ornaments. However, designers did not aim at authenticity. Instead they translated the mystical and symbolic grandeur of Egypt with a somewhat indiscriminate air. Ornaments were fitted out with an affective assembly of stylised motifs. These included scarabs, hieroglyphs, winged falcons, the lotus and papyrus plants, and profile heads of a vaguely Egyptian character.Picture 1 is a good example of Egyptian Revival back gebs of this type, dating from circa. 1910. It is made of celluloid faux tortoiseshell and has a gilt metal mounting with pseudo Egyptian type winged motifs similar to those seen on perctoral ornaments in the Tutankhamun treasure. At either extremity are placed scarabs in goldtone metal. gebs like this were intended to be worn at the back of the head, either above or beneath the chignon, and are usually deeply curved.
1: Egyptian Revival hair geb.