Auguste Bonaz Black Celluloid Faceted French Jet Comb

Ref: AB-0905-001

We tend to think of large and impressive Spanish style combs when we think of Bonaz. However the workshop turned out hair accessories of all shapes and sizes during its long career.

Here we see a back comb of black celluloid. These combs are appropriately named because they are intended to be worn at the back of the dressing and are curved to fit the skull. This handsome example is decorated with five large faceted circular disks of French jet, a glittering form of black glass much favoured in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The final picture shows a beautiful and stylish magazine ad for Maison Bonaz illustrating a similar comb type.

Size: 5 x 3 ¾ ins (approx 12.5 x 7.5 cms)

£100.00

Auguste Bonaz French Ivory Pierced Hair Comb

Ref: AB-0905-002

This magnificent French ivory hair comb is an example of the kinds of high quality ornaments for which Maison Auguste Bonaz was famous. This oversized Spanish style hair ornament has a design of incredible delicacy with is reminiscent of the kind of delicately pierced moucharabia work seen in Syrian and Middle Eastern furniture and window decorations.

This work is combined with a double border of elongated chevrons which radiate out like the rays of the sun. This is yet another interpretation of the iconic sunray or spokes motif of the Art Deco movement, which is held to have various interpretations and sources.

The final picture is taken for an advertisement for Maison Bonaz from the French magazine L’Illustration and shows a model wearing one of the giant combs for which the workshop was famous during the early to mid 1920s.

Size: 7 x 7 ins (18 x 18 cms)

£500.00

Auguste Bonaz Hand Painted Miniature Mantilla Comb

Ref: AB-0905-004

The Bonaz workshop continued to produce hair accessories well into the twentieth century. However from the 1930s onward their size and scope was much reduced, in tune with the popular taste.

This pretty little example has the split prongs which we see from the mid century onward. The wedge shaped heading is a miniature version of the tall mantilla style combs of the first two decades of the century. Here it is decorated with hand done flowers in coloured paint and gilding.

The final picture shows a typical low hairstyle of the late 1930s or 1940s and illustrates this same hair comb. The comb is signed on the back of the heading.

Size: 3 ¼ x 1 ½ ins (approx 8 x 4 cms)

£30.00

Auguste Bonaz Gilded Loops Design Hair Comb

Ref: AB-0905-005

This pretty little gilded hair comb with a heading consisting of a series of loops, dates from the 1940s. The Bonaz workshop continued to produce hair accessories well into the twentieth century. However from the 1930s onward their size and scope was much reduced, in tune with the popular taste.

The final picture is taken from a coloured ad in a contemporary French magazine and shows a smart theatre party in which the ladies wear handsome side combs. Shown alongside are typical hair comb designs of the Bonaz studio for the decade. The comb is signed on the back of the tines, which take an unusual split form.

Size: 3 ¾ x 2 ¼ ins (approx 9.5 x 5.5 cms)

£25.00

Auguste Bonaz Gilded and Rhinestone Spiky Design Comb

Ref: AB-0905-006

This small gilded hair comb with its distinctive spiky design and rhinestone trim dates from the 1950s. We know this because an identical comb type is illustrated in the final picture, which is an ad for Bonaz combs dated 1952.

The pony tail hair style first became popular in this decade when it was universally associated with teenagers and rock n roll. The comb is signed on the back of the heading.

Size: 2 ¼ x 2 ins (approx 5.5 x 5 ins)

£25.00

Paquignon Gilded Loop Shape Comb

Ref: AB-0905-008

The French town of Oyonnox lies in a valley of the Jura Mountains. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries this region was famous for its comb industry. The maker of this pretty signed hair comb was a contemporary of Auguste Bonaz working in Oyonnox during approximately the same time period.

The combs produced by this workshop are always signed. This neat little faux tortoiseshell has a loop shaped top with applied gilding and probably dates from the late 1930s or 1940s when the size of such ornaments had decreased considerably.

It can be compared with the example in the final illustration which shows hair combs from the Bonaz workshop of similar classic design.

Size: 4 x 1 ½ ins (approx 10 x 3.5 cms)

£25.00

Francois Huchard Faux Tortoiseshell Hair Comb

Ref: AB-0905-009

This pretty little horn hair comb is signed by Francois Huchard, a contemporary of Auguste Bonaz working in Oyonnox. His workshop produced fine hair accessories for the first four decades of the 20th century and his works are always signed on the back.

This pretty faux tortoiseshell hair comb has three large split prongs and an openwork pierced design suggestive of foliage in a rather stiff and geometric way. It probably dates from the 1940s and can be compared with the example in the final illustration which shows hair combs from the Bonaz workshop of similar classic design.

Size: 5 x 2 ¾ ins (approx 12.5 x 7 cms)

£25.00

Francois Huchard Faux Tortoiseshell Oval Barrette

Ref: AB-0905-010

This pretty little horn hair comb is signed by Francois Huchard, a contemporary of Auguste Bonaz working in Oyonnox. His workshop produced fine hair accessories for the first four decades of the 20th century and his works are always signed on the back.

This classic oval shaped faux tortoiseshell hair barrette has an openwork design. Its fluid sense of movement is reminiscent of Art Nouveau and it may date from the period 1910 to 1920s. The barrette has a traditional metal loop and bar closing and the ornament is signed on the back.

Size: 3 ½ x 1 ½ ins (approx 9 x 4 cms)

£10.00