Pigskin

Chinese drum
MFA Acc. #: 17.2120

Description

A leather produced from the skin of a domestic pig, Sus scrofa. Pigskin has a characteristic nobby grain pattern produced by the hair follicles which are arrange in roughly triangular groups of three. These holes pass through the leather and are caused by pulling the bristles out of the skin. Pigskin is a tough and durable leather. It is used to make bags, shoes, gloves, luggage, and footballs.

See also pecccary and Capybara.

Sow and piglets

Synonyms and Related Terms

hogskin; piel de cerdo (Esp.); cuir de porc (Fr.); pele de porco (Port.)

Resources and Citations

• Matt Roberts, Don Etherington, Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books: a Dictionary of Descriptive Terminology, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 1982

• Edward Reich, Carlton J. Siegler, Consumer Goods: How to Know and Use Them, American Book Company, New York City, 1937

• American Leather Chemists Association Glossary at www.leatherchemists.org

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998