Difference between revisions of "Feather"

Latest revision as of 13:29, 5 October 2024

War bonnet
MFA# 2003.659

Headdress (susiu)
MFA# 1994.410

Description

The stiff, lightweight, often colorful, Keratin structure that is the principal covering of birds. Feathers are composed of a central, hollow Quill that attaches to the bird's body. For flight feathers, each side of the quill (vane) has a series of slender, closely spaced barbs that interlock to form a continuous, flat surface. Plume feathers (e.g., Ostrich, Peacock) are less cohesive with unconnected barbs. Down feathers, obtained from young birds or the undergrowth of adult birds, are soft and lack barbs. Feathers naturally occur in a wide variety of colors pigmented with melanin (black to yellow) and Carotenoids (red and yellow). Most birds periodically drop feathers as part of a molting process. Feathers and quills have been used since ancient times for decoration, clothing, masks, and as writing utensils. The fashionable use of feathers in the 19th century directly resulted in several bird preservation laws (e.g. Eagle).

For detailed information on the feather structure, identification deterioration and care, please see the AIC Wiki for:

Feathers (Objects Specialty Group): Feathers

Feather fan
MFA# 1976.514

Synonyms and Related Terms

featherwork; feathers (pl.); fjer (Dan.); Feder (Deut.); pluma (Esp.); plume (Fr.); penna (It.); veer (Ned.); fjær (Nor.); pióra ptaka (Pol.); pena (Port.)

Risks

Many natural and synthetic colors in bird feathers are not lightfast.
Feathers are susceptible to insect damage and contamination by frass and dirt.
Mechanical damage includes breakage, vane loss, barbule disruption and bending.

Physical and Chemical Properties

Insoluble in organic solvents.
Burns giving odor of burnt hair.
Becomes limp in boiling water.

Additional Images

Parakeet feathers
Parakeet feathers
Parakeet feathers
Down

Resources and Citations

Bishop Museum: Care of feathers

O. Untracht, Jewelry Concepts and Technology, Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York, 1985.

The Dictionary of Art, Grove's Dictionaries Inc., New York, 1996 Comment: "Feather" Allyson Rae

Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985

Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "feather." Accessed. 9 Nov. 2004 .

Oppi Untracht, Jewelry Concepts and Technology, Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York City, 1985

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-[[File:2001.145-SC11419.jpg|thumb|]]
+[[File:2003.659-SC77850.jpg|thumb|War bonnet<br>MFA# 2003.659]]
+[[File:1994.410-SC1629.jpg||thumb|Headdress (susiu)<br>MFA# 1994.410]]
 == Description ==
-The stiff, lightweight, often colorful, [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=keratin keratin] structure that is the principal covering of birds. Feathers are composed of a central, hollow [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=quill quill] that attaches to the bird's body. For flight feathers, each side of the quill (vane) has a series of slender, closely spaced barbs that interlock to form a continuous, flat surface. Plume feathers (e.g., [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=ostrich ostrich], [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=peacock peacock]) are less cohesive with unconnected barbs. [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=Down Down] feathers, obtained from young birds or the undergrowth of adult birds, are soft and lack barbs. Feathers naturally occur in a wide variety of colors pigmented with [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=melanin melanin] (black to yellow) and [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=carotenoid carotenoids] (red and yellow). Most birds periodically drop feathers as part of a molting process. Feathers and quills have been used since ancient times for decoration, clothing, masks, and as writing utensils. The fashionable use of feathers in the 19th century directly resulted in several bird preservation laws (e.g. [http://cameo.mfa.org/materials/fullrecord.asp?name=eagle eagle]).
+The stiff, lightweight, often colorful, [[keratin]] structure that is the principal covering of birds. Feathers are composed of a central, hollow [[quill]] that attaches to the bird's body. For flight feathers, each side of the quill (vane) has a series of slender, closely spaced barbs that interlock to form a continuous, flat surface. Plume feathers (e.g., [[ostrich]], [[peacock]]) are less cohesive with unconnected barbs. [[Down]] feathers, obtained from young birds or the undergrowth of adult birds, are soft and lack barbs. Feathers naturally occur in a wide variety of colors pigmented with melanin (black to yellow) and [[carotenoid|Carotenoids]] (red and yellow). Most birds periodically drop feathers as part of a molting process. Feathers and quills have been used since ancient times for decoration, clothing, masks, and as writing utensils. The fashionable use of feathers in the 19th century directly resulted in several bird preservation laws (e.g. [[eagle]]).
-[[File:1976.514-E1380CR-d1.jpg|thumb|'''MFA Acc. #:''' 1976.514]]
+For detailed information on the feather structure, identification deterioration and care, please see the AIC Wiki for:
-== Synonyms and Related Terms ==
+* Feathers (Objects Specialty Group): [https://www.conservation-wiki.com/wiki/Feathers Feathers]
-featherwork; feathers (pl.); fjer (Dan.); Feder (Deut.); pluma (Esp.); plume (Fr.); penna (It.); veer (Ned.); fjr (Nor.); pira ptaka (Pol.); pena (Port.)
+[[File:1976.514-E1380CR-d1.jpg|thumb|Feather fan<br>MFA# 1976.514]]
-== Other Properties ==
+== Synonyms and Related Terms ==
-Insoluble in organic solvents.  Burns giving odor of burnt hair.  Becomes limp in boiling water.
-== Hazards and Safety ==
+featherwork; feathers (pl.); fjer (Dan.); Feder (Deut.); pluma (Esp.); plume (Fr.); penna (It.); veer (Ned.); fjær (Nor.); pióra ptaka (Pol.); pena (Port.)
+== Risks ==
-Many natural and synthetic colors in bird feathers are not lightfast.
+* Many natural and synthetic colors in bird feathers are not lightfast.
+* Feathers are susceptible to insect damage and contamination by frass and dirt.
+* Mechanical damage includes breakage, vane loss, barbule disruption and bending.
-== Additional Information ==
+== Physical and Chemical Properties ==
-Bishop Museum: [http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/pdfs/cnsv-feathers.pdf Care of feathers] O. Untracht, ''Jewelry Concepts and Technology'', Doubleday &amp; Co., Inc., New York, 1985.
+* Insoluble in organic solvents.
+* Burns giving odor of burnt hair.
+* Becomes limp in boiling water.
 == Additional Images ==
 <gallery>
-File:2003.659-SC77850.jpg|
-File:1994.410-SC1629.jpg|
 File:Parakeet.Feathers.jpg|Parakeet feathers
 File:Feather200X_RT.jpg|Parakeet feathers
@@ Line 32: / Line 34: @@
 </gallery>
+== Resources and Citations ==
+* Bishop Museum: [http://www.bishopmuseum.org/research/pdfs/cnsv-feathers.pdf Care of feathers]
-== Authority ==
+* O. Untracht, ''Jewelry Concepts and Technology'', Doubleday &amp; Co., Inc., New York, 1985.
 * ''The Dictionary of Art'', Grove's Dictionaries Inc., New York, 1996  Comment: "Feather" Allyson Rae
-* Rosalie Rosso King, Rosalie Rosso King, ''Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation'', Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985
+* Rosalie Rosso King, ''Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation'', Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985
-* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: "feather." Encyclopdia Britannica. 9 Nov. 2004 .
+* ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', http://www.britannica.com  Comment: "feather." Accessed. 9 Nov. 2004 .
-* Oppi Untracht, Oppi Untracht, ''Jewelry Concepts and Technology'', Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York City, 1985
+* Oppi Untracht, ''Jewelry Concepts and Technology'', Doubleday & Co., Inc., New York City, 1985
 [[Category:Materials database]]