Silver Patterned Comb with Eighteen Conical Nails

This silver patterned comb with eighteen conical nails is a woman's headwear of Short-Skirt Miao in Leishan County, Guizhou. Both sides of it are engraved with butterfly patterns. Two rows of conical silver nails stand for lightning, which carries the implication of exorcising evil spirits.

Silver patterned comb is a characteristic headwear of Miao people, a Chinese minority, and an indispensable part of the Miao culture. It can be used for brushing and suppressing hair as an ornament. It is usually made of wood and wrapped with silver in the parts other than comb teeth. The back is also decorated with all sorts of patterns, which are either simply or complicatedly modeled.