Comb

Item number 2878/46 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Data
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Description

Carved turtle shell comb in the shape of a fish with a tail at one end and an eye and mouth at the other end. The comb teeth make up the bottom half of the body of the fish, and the tail serves as the handle. The colour is a mixture of brown and light brown with the main body being darker brown and the tail a lighter brown. The comb curves down the length of the body.

Narrative

Traditional combs (Sabara Tribal) carved from the shell of Olive Ridley turtles. The turtles swim up from waters south of Sri Lanka to Orissan beaches around Chilka Lake to mate and lay their eggs. For centuries locals have used their shells to make household items but since the 1990s they've become a by-product of an illegal offshore net-fishery and are now on the critically endangered list.