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Bolivian Featherwork Dance Ornament
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Feather Mosaic Dance Ornament, 20th Century
Aymara people; Isla del Sol, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia
Cane, feather and fiber; 1/2 x 22 x 13 3/4 in.
94.2.1.6
Gift of the Gift of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of Law Enforcement
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This piece is a delicate festival decoration from the Bolivian Andes. Made of dozens of wooden rods laced together with string, the rods are overlain with feathers, carefully chosen for their size and color. These feathers are then placed in specific designs to create pictures, much like a mosaic. For this reason, it is often referred to as a “feather mosaic.” This particular mosaic depicts a green reptile in the center, a man riding a horse, a woman and a masked figure to the right of the reptile, with a prancing lion, a masked figure and a woman to the left. There is blue lettering at the top and small depictions of snakes and birds in the background of the scene.
The feathers used to the create the mosaic come from a variety of birds, including the Scarlet Macaw, the Green and Blue Macaw, the Yellow-headed Parrot, the Mealy Parrot, and the Crested Quetzal. Additional larger feathers are loosely tied to the bottom of the wooden rods, forming tassel-like adornments, and these feathers come from both the Scarlet Macaw and the Green and Blue Macaw. The piece is worn around the shoulders during ceremonial dances in Bolivia. The particular dance in which one would use this particular feathered shoulder strap is unknown, but possibilities include popular Bolivian dances such as the tarqueada, the llamerada, the kullawada, or the wayno.
While the precise origin of the object is unclear, the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and the Israel Museum of Jerusalem hold similar items in their collections from the Copacabana region of Bolivia. Due to the fragile nature of the material, most surviving feather mosaics are fairly modern creations, but archaeological excavations of high-altitude burial sites with little annual precipitation uncovered well-preserved centuries-old featherwork. This long tradition of featherwork among Andean peoples continues to influence the style of present-day ceremonial ornaments.
All text and image under copyright. Please contact Collection Department for permission to use. Information subject to change upon further research.
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