The Hammer Wig

This is an eighteenth-century metal, painted sign for a Parisian hairdresser. The wig represented is called a "perruque à marteaux" - a hammer wig. The hammers are the curled loops of hair rolled over a tube. The guild of wigmakers date from the reign of Louis XIV and number of variations existed.
 
This work is from the Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris and was accessioned as early as 1884.