Explore objects from different times and cultures with a focus on feathers

Feather coils decorated with thousands of bright red feathers, called tevau, are one of the most stunning examples of the value of feathers; these coils were made and traded in the Solomon Islands as currency. If you owned one and you lived in the islands, you would wrap it in leaves and hang it from the rafters of your house to protect it from insects and damp.

Where would you keep something precious in your house?

Feather money coil | tevau, , Ethnologische Sammlung des Museum Natur und Mensch, II/2332.01, Foto: Axel Killian, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 https://onlinesammlung.freiburg.de/en/object/08351DE5E2E54E00AE0B72FB78D61C67

In China, the bright turquoise feathers of the kingfisher were used in making jewelry and ornaments worn in the hair or attached to a hat. The time and skill needed to not only catch the birds, but to patiently cut and glue the tiny fibers of their feathers to the metal ornaments, meant that these were costly objects worn mostly by members of the emperor’s household and other wealthy people.  

Hair ornaments depicting flowers, butterflies, or birds were worn by ladies of the Manchu elite class.

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ICA-Art Conservation

Headdress Ornament

This headdress is made with hundreds of red tail feathers from the grey parrot (

). Only the king, some high-ranking individuals, and members of the all-male elephant society wore this prestigious headgear at ceremonies and funerals.

The headdress has an ingenious built-in storage system: it can be flipped inside out to encase the feathers within a rigid woven structure, protecting them during storage or travel.

How do you store or carry your favorite special things to wear? 

This headdress has an ingenious built-in storage system: it can be flipped inside out to encase the feathers within a rigid woven structure, protecting them during storage or travel. Hundreds of red tail feathers from the grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) decorate this disk-shaped headdress. Only the king, some high-ranking individuals, and members of the all-male elephant society—known in different languages as Kuosi, Nekang, or Kem-ndze—wore this prestigious headgear at ceremonies and funerals. Typically, the headdress was worn pushed slightly back from the hairline. When used by members of the elephant society, it was accompanied by a cloth and glass bead mask (mbap mteng) in the shape of that animal, such as 1985.1082.


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Headdress

In ancient Egypt, feathers were used as symbols of deities, including the goddess Ma'at. In fact, it was believed that upon entering the afterlife, the souls of the deceased would be weighed against Ma'at's ostrich feather, and if it was lighter than her feather, then they could proceed into the afterlife. 

Though few actual feathers have survived from ancient Egypt, there are many objects that depict feathers in other materials, like this inlaid glass and stone decoration. This small object depicts a vulture headdress, worn by goddesses and queens. Nekhbet, the vulture goddess, was the protector of Upper Egypt.

Why do you think that feathers are so often associated with the gods? What aspects of birds' appearance or behavior would cause these associations across diverse cultures of the world?  

The vulture headdress was worn by goddesses and queens. This inlay in the form of a vulture headdress has more than 100 stones: lapis lazuli (dark blue), turquoise (light blue), petrified wood (red), and an unidentified white stone painstakingly cut to shape and separated by thin plates of gold. Body, wing, and tail feathers are carefully distinguished in minute detail.

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Vulture Headdress Inlay

This warrior is resplendent in his blue feathered armor with a removable headdress or helmet. The bright blue pigment is Maya blue, an ingenious combination of indigo (a plant-based dye) and clay that was invented by the Maya, after which the knowledge about how to make it was lost to time. Archaeologists were surprised by the bright blue that remained so well preserved on murals and objects, and wasn't affected by water or acid rain. Scientists didn't rediscover the secret of Maya blue until the 20th century and the exact recipes on how to make it are still being studied!

The major offerings placed in the Maya graves of Jaina Island were ceramic figurines, some of Mesoamerica's finest, that depict deities and humans in a variety of roles. This warrior, his headdress removable, once probably held weapons and wears either quilted cotton armor or the feathered uniform of a military order. We don't know why such figures are often pot-bellied.

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Warrior Figurine with Removable Headdress

Feathers’ rarity and beauty have been appreciated throughout East and Southeast Asia for centuries. This ceremonial set of armor includes a helmet topped with two prominent feathers that have been highlighted even further with gold, metalwork and beads. 

The ceremonial uniform was considerably heavy; the jacket alone weighs 2.38 kg (5.25 lbs).



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Ceremonial Helmet; part of a Ceremonial Uniform

Feathered objects made in the Andes region of what is now Peru, in South America, included ceremonial garments, headdresses, and hangings. Archaeologists have also found miniature garments and accessories believed to have been ritual offerings. Many different species of birds are native to this area, but most of the panels that have been studied have feathers from just six species, including the parrot and the macaw.  This suggests that only specific birds held symbolic importance for these garments.  

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Feathered Tabard or Tunic

This Pomo bowl made with brightly colored and iridescent mallard, meadowlark, and quail feathers is an example of a type made as a special gift. The Pomo people are world-renowned for their skills and inventiveness in making basketry, and gift baskets may be adorned with feathers, beads, and colored plant fibers. The great patience and skill needed to make a basket like this gives the object very special status. 

What colors and materials would you choose to decorate a special gift for someone important in your life?  

Although this basket probably was not made for native use, the feathered basket is based on an older type that was exchanged among natives as a treasured gift on such occasions as ceremonies that marked the stages of life. The feathers and shell beads are symbols of prestige and wealth.



Standards for Feathers Around the World