NAVIGATION

A Bering Strait Yupik Eskimo Double-Sided Comb ‘Nuyitet’ Etched with Abstract Totems and with a Small Loop for Hanging on a Belt or as a Pendant 
Early 19th Century

Size: 9cm high, 5cm wide - 3½ ins high, 2 ins wide / 13.5cm high - 5¼ ins high (with base)

 

Women on both sides of the Bering Strait wore ornate hair ornaments. They dressed their hair by parting it along the median line and arranging it in a pendant braid or club shape bun behind the ear. Sometimes the braids are united at the back of the head or they may be combed and arranged with strips of fur or strings of multicoloured glass trade beads. Often the strips of fur worn are those of the animal representing the family totem and is therefore a means of identification. Nuyitet combs such as this were also used by women as decorative hairpieces and the type with wider teeth were called ‘tangle removers, Tegurriliurutet’.