Cleveland Museum of Art

Comb

Date

1400s

Medium

boxwood

Culture

France, Gothic period, 15th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This luxury object is masterfully fashioned from a single piece of wood. The openwork carving is intended to resemble Gothic windows. The inscription reads, "mon ♥️ aves" on one side and "pour bien" on the other, translated to "you have my heart in your possession." Boxwood is a light-colored wood which is very hard, close-grained, and fine-textured, allowing the carver to do very fine delicate work.

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