Curling Tongs

Date1740-1780

MediumSteel

DimensionsOL 6 5/8 in.
Width across handles 2 ¼ in.

Credit LineGift of The Valentine Museum, Richmond, VA

Object number2024-166

DescriptionA pair of steel curling tongs consisting of two hinged sections with square upper shafts ending in curled handles. Below the hinge, the curling iron shafts are elongated and cylindrical.Label TextBy the mid-18th century, wigs were widely worn by both men and women in England and its American colonies. Tongs like these, generally imported to the colonies from England, were used to curl both natural hair and wigs. In Virginia, they were just as likely to be wielded by an enslaved valet than a paid hairdresser.ProvenancePrior to 1968, Elizabeth Daniel (Richmond, VA); 1968, given to the Valentine Museum (Richmond, VA); 2024-present, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)