So-called head combs, which consist of individual carved and bound teeth, are more a decorative than a utility item. The handle, which consists of putty covering the bound teeth, is almost always adorned. The combs were worn by men. Today, however, they also form part of a bride's regalia.
The object was collected by Lieutenant Paul Werber from Freiburg, 1st Officer in the Imperial Navy who sailed the South Seas for a total of two years on the S.M.S. Cormoran and donated about 100 objects from various regions of Oceania to the museum.