A Comb for Drying Hair

This cast bronze miniature masterpiece is a comb for women to disentangle their long tresses of hair and dry them in the process. The circular, ornate pendant for holding the comb has an animated depiction of mother and child with a female attendant standing on the right. Below this are two figures of vyali while above the tableau of figures is a lion mask with protruding eyes- both being in the artistic idiom of southern India. The entire composition is encircled by foliage. Five spikes issue from this pendant for combing and drying hair.
There are more than 100 such combs for drying hair in the Sanskriti museum of Everyday Art- all different in design and motifs.