Manuel Valentin: Bird Feathers in African Arts

Talking about "plumasserie" (featherwork) in African art history is quite unusual. Feathers most often are considered as a secondary and essentially decorative material. A true technical and artistic knowledge was however developed in Africa particularly in the art of adornment. This can be attested by some rare headdresses as well as by some categories of masks and of statuettes from the end of the 19th century. Feathers which were associated with these either socially prestigious or ritually charged objects came from selected specific bird species. According to their color, their patterns and their length, feathers were used in order to enhance the visual presence of persons and objects. They also inscribed them in the field of knowledge and in a reality where visible and invisible are closely connected