TATTOOING COMB
The practice of tattooing in modern Europe and America dates back to the 18th century European voyages to Polynesia. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word tattoo back to the 18th century from the Polynesian tatau*. Sailors saw the Polynesian tattoos, and adopted the technique to decorate themselves with designs that were meaningful to them.
This Samoan tattooing comb was made at the end of the 19th century. It consists of an ivory comb with fine teeth, bound to a plate of bone, which is in turn bound to a wood handle. Samoan tattoo artists used combs like this one to apply the designs. They dipped the comb in a mixture of water and candlenut soot and tapped the comb with a stick to make the pointed teeth puncture the skin and deposit the pigment.
The practice of tattooing in modern Europe and America dates back to the 18th century European voyages to Polynesia. The Oxford English Dictionary traces the word tattoo back to the 18th century from the Polynesian tatau. Sailors saw the Polynesian tattoos, and adopted the technique to decorate themselves with designs that were meaningful to them.
This Samoan tattooing comb was made at the end of the 19th century. It consists of an ivory comb with fine teeth, bound to a plate of bone, which is in turn bound to a wood handle. Samoan tattoo artists used combs like this one to apply the designs. They dipped the comb in a mixture of water and candlenut soot and tapped the comb with a stick to make the pointed teeth puncture the skin and deposit the pigment.
This Samoan tattooing comb was made at the end of the 19th century. It consists of an ivory comb with fine teeth, bound to a plate of bone, which is in turn bound to a wood handle. Samoan tattoo artists used combs like this one to apply the designs. They dipped the comb in a mixture of water and candlenut soot and tapped the comb with a stick to make the pointed teeth puncture the skin and deposit the pigment.
