Very Primitive Antique Flax Hetchel Berber ferrule 1 5/8" in diameter

ferrule 1 5/8" in diameter

which I believe are African and made of bone and what appears to be silver or silver plate (it is quite shiny

5 1/4" long x 1 3/8" wide x 2 3/8" tall and in great condition

it came--and comes--in a solid wood matte black painted with new cardboard back

making it a really great one to hang on the wall or even from the ceiling

Very Primitive Antique Flax Hetchel Berber ferrule 1 5/8" in diameterI'm always admiring old hetchel, which were used to comb flax in preparation of spinning it into thread, but this small scale one is the first I've really felt compelled to purchase, as it seems to me just about the most primitive, distilled iteration of the tool I've seen, and pure sculpture at the same time. Just two rows of old iron teeth here, beautifully rusted and bent here and there, a handful of them a little loose, such that they can be