The Tuvans, like many other peoples, had a custom of storing combed hair, as observed by ethnographers during their expeditions in Tuva, Mongolia, and China.

The hairstyles worn by the Turko-Mongols of Central Asia in different periods of world history are mentioned in written sources. In the Middle Ages, braids were worn not only by women, but also by Mongolian men. Since ancient times braids were popular also among Turkic men, which is confirmed by stone statues of the ancient Turkic period (6th — 8th centuries), which portray warriors with one braid on the back, similar to the Tuvan men’s hairstyle kezhege. Until the early 20th century, Tuvans wore the kezhege hairstyle: they shaved their hair around the outer circle and braided the hair left on the top of the head into one braid. The kezhege hairstyle was a symbol of courage and strength. Tuvan married women braided their hair into two braids, while girls braided their hair into three braids and then joined them into one braid.

Both men and women wove black silk threads (chalaa-kara) into their braids and tied an artificial braid of black silk. This hairstyle was characteristic of the peoples of Central Asia. In pre-revolutionary Tuva in the early 20th century, the main Tuvans’ braid ornaments were salbaktar (booshkunnar), chavaga and a comb.

Decorated combs (bash shuuru) were the items Tuvan women displayed as fashionable accessories. Metal combs were decorated with embossing and engraving as well as with inlays of semi-precious stones or enamel. For instance, silver combs inlaid with semi-precious stones were a subject of special pride for Tuvan women and were handed down from generation to generation. Women mostly used wooden combs. Bone combs were quite rare, as bone carving was not so widespread in the Tuvan traditional culture.

The fine-toothed comb presented in the exhibition of the National Museum of the Republic of Tuva was made of bone by Tash-ool Buuevich Kungaa in 1980. The handle of this comb is decorated with carved stylized figures of four horses, following each other in twos.