Hair-Pin

Hair-Pin

Object name: Hair-Pin
Date: 1850-1900
Dimensions:
205 x 10 mm
Medium: Bone, glass
Object number: C12434
DescriptionLady's hair pin consisting of 2 long, slightly curved prongs. It is decorated at the top with green and red glass beads and a spoon-shaped ear-cleaner. Possibly made from the bone of a bird leg.

In the 19th Century China banned ornamentation in the form of costume accessories. However, Chinese ladies were allowed to wear ornamented hairpins because they claimed they were functional: hairpins were also used as ear cleaners, an important social practice in 19th Century China.