Peineta

Small peinetas formed part of Catholic devotional practice as early as the Spanish colonial period. Worn to secure the mantilla over the head during Mass, these smaller combs complemented the modest, yet ornamental standards expected of women in church settings. By the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the use of decorative combs crafted from materials such as gold, tortoise shell, horn, and shell, had already developed within a more oriental aesthetic. Their designs often reflected Malayo-Chinese influences, including low-relief engraving and rhythmic triangular tumpal motifs that echoed embroidered textiles like the mantones de Manila traded through the galleon route.

By the nineteenth century, the payneta had become deeply embedded in colonial Philippine society, where clothing functioned as a visible marker of race, class, and mobility. Dress evolved both across generations and within an individual’s lifetime. A pura de india or mestiza woman typically wore the traditional native ensemble saya suelta, a short, embroidered piña baro, an ornamented comb (peineta), modest earrings, and small slippers until marriage. As observed by Álvarez Guerra, sartorial change often followed marriage to a European, enabling women to adopt the dress and customs associated with Castilians and certain Spanish mestizos. Marriage to Chinese men, however, did not usually produce the same transformation in attire.

Shifts in appearance were not merely personal but symbolic of social aspiration and colonial hierarchy. Beyond the Philippines, the smaller peineta also became the version most familiar to Americans, particularly in Hispanic-influenced regions such as Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, and the American Southwest in general, reinforcing its identity as both a devotional accessory and a marker of colonial cultural exchange.

This artifact is part of the DM Guevara Collection, which pays tribute to the Filipino artisans of the past two centuries and is on display at the San Buenaventura-Gallery in Museo De La Salle.