Catalogue
All items have been drawn and photographed. Numbers in the catalogue correspond with those in plates 1 and 2.
1) Collection municipality of Utrecht, former PUG-collection, inv.no. 9359. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with 68 fine teeth and 34 coarse teeth still preserved, most of them intact. Polished (?) curved central bar with a biconical, instead of the more usual lentoid section. Bar width of 24 mm at the end tapering to some 10 mm near the centre; at the back, deep transversal cut over the central bar (nearly broken) as well as two additional instances of minor damage on an otherwise well preserved example. Left side complete with compass cut terminal, right end broken. Tangentially sawn billet. Length: 89 mm. Width: 66 mm. Found during excavations by the PUG in 1893. Unpublished, mentioned in Muller 1895, 152 [= booklet p. 31].
2) Collection municipality of Utrecht, former PUG-collection, inv.no. 9361. Three fitting fragments of a double-sided boxwood comb with 37 intact fine teeth as well as 18 coarse teeth, most of them broken. Plain rectangular bar. Left side complete with sinuous terminal, right end broken. Some teeth have been sawn just beyond the guidelines that were meant as their baseline. Radially sawn billet. Length: 50 mm. Width: 63 mm. Found during excavations by the PUG in 1893. Unpublished, mentioned in Muller 1895, 152 [= booklet p. 31].
3) Collection municipality of Utrecht, former PUG-collection, inv.no. 9361a. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb. Plain but curved central bar. Both sides incomplete. Still 41 fine teeth present, all complete, as well as 23 coarse teeth, 3 of which are broken. At their bases, all teeth have been sawn exactly until the guidelines cut on the central bar. Radial segment. Length: 50 mm. Width c. 63 mm. Found during excavations by the PUG in 1893. Unpublished, mentioned in Muller 1895, 152 [= booklet p. 31].
4) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Long, nearly complete double-sided boxwood comb consisting of two fitting pieces. Right terminal D-shaped, left terminal partly gone but undoubtedly of the same shape. Narrow (width 9 mm) rectangular central bar with clear-cut guidelines on both sides. With 57 fine and 23 coarse teeth, all teeth are still present, nearly half a dozen of the coarse ones and just one fine tooth in complete shape. Radially sawn billet. Length: c. 72 mm. Width: c. 45 mm. Found 1977? Kept in unconserved, wet condition. Unpublished.
5) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with narrow central bar (width 7 mm). Both left and right end lost. Preserved teeth: 16 coarse teeth and 25 fine ones, all of them broken. Though in many ways very similar to the fragment cat.no. 6, judging by their differential thickness both fragments certainly belong to different specimens. The grooves which were cut as guidelines for the sawing of the teeth are neatly respected. Made from a radially sawn billet. Length: 30 mm. Width: 31 mm. Found 1977? In bad state of preservation: much of the wood has already decayed. Kept in unconserved, wet condition. Unpublished.
6) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with plain and narrow central bar (width 7 mm). Beginning of right terminal preserved, left side lost. Preserved teeth: 11 coarse teeth, among which 4 complete, and 23 fine teeth, all of them broken. Though in many ways very similar to the fragment cat.no. 5, judging by their differential thickness both fragments certainly belong to different specimens. Made from a radially sawn billet. Length: 21 mm. Width: 46 mm. Found 1977? In bad state of preservation, though the wood is harder than that of cat.no. 5. Kept in unconserved, wet condition. Unpublished.
7) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with plain curved central bar; width of bar c. 26 mm at the broken right end and c. 18 mm in the centre. Both left and right end lost, originally probably with compass cut terminals. Preserved teeth: 24 coarse teeth, among which 5 complete, and 38 fine teeth, all broken. The grooves that were cut as guidelines for the sawing of the teeth are crossed by all coarse as well as most fine teeth. Tangential segment. Length: 58 mm. Width: 53 mm. Found 1977? The object is very vulnerable to breaking as at about half length and towards the right end a vertical crack is visible. Kept in unconserved, wet condition. Unpublished.
8) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Two fitting fragments of a double-sided boxwood comb. Broken along the boundary between two tree rings; each of the two fragments shows an additional crack on the front which may eventually lead to further breaking. Curved central bar secondarily perforated near the right end. Bar width from c. 28 mm at the right end tapering to c. 17 mm at the break. Preserved teeth: 17 fine teeth (9 complete) and 10 coarse ones. Radially sawn billet. Length: 26 mm. Width: 58 mm. Found 1977? Kept in unconserved, wet condition. Unpublished.
9) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with straight central bar and small D-shaped terminal. On both sides of the comb a circular decoration has been punched near the end of the central bar. Preserved teeth: 24 fine teeth (9 complete) and 10 coarse ones (2 complete). Radially sawn billet. Preserved length 28 mm. Width of bar 7 mm. Found 1977? Treated with unknown preservative which caused blackening of the object. Kept in feeze-dried condition. Unpublished.
10) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with straight central bar; both ends missing. Preserved teeth: 33 fine teeth (29 complete) and 17 coarse ones (15 complete). Tangentially sawn billet. Preserved length 38 mm. Width of bar 6 mm. Found 1977? Kept in feeze-dried condition. Unpublished.
11) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with straight central bar; both ends missing. Preserved teeth: 22 fine teeth and 12 coarse ones most of which are complete. Radially sawn billet. Preserved length 21 mm. Width of bar 6 mm. Found 1977? Kept in feeze-dried condition. Unpublished.
12) Private collection, W. en B. Elberse, Bunnik. Tiny fragment of a double-sided boxwood comb with small pronounced central bar. Part of one terminal has been preserved; on the coarse side two cracks in the terminal show its fragile condition. Also parts from what is seen here as the back side of the comb have been lost. Preserved teeth: 6 fine teeth recognisable, and 5 coarse teethe, none of them complete. Tangentially sawn billet. Preserved length 12 mm. Width of bar 6 mm. Found 1977? Kept in feeze-dried condition. Unpublished.