American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

Feather Arts: Beauty, Wealth and Spirit from Five Continents (Exhibition)
birth: 1980 April 18
death: 1980 September 1
Exhibition. Opened April 18, 1980 and closed September 1, 1980. Located in Section 3, Floor 3 in Gallery 3 at the American Museum of Natural History. Feather Arts: Beauty, Wealth and Spirit from Five Continents, which featured over 250 artifacts of featherworking, was a travelling exhibition originating from the Field Museum of Chicago and curated by Phyllis Rabineau.
Summary
Feather Arts: Beauty, Wealth and Spirit from Five Continents, which featured over 250 artifacts of featherworking, was a travelling exhibition originating from the Field Museum of Chicago and curated by Phyllis Rabineau. (1). As presented at the American Museum of Natural History, the exhibition was a collaboration between the Departments of Anthropology, Ornithology, and Exhibition and Graphics (2, p. 12, 37, 49). Some items dated back over 1,000 years. The exhibition also emphasized that many of the birds whose feathers are used for featherwork were endangered. A related Exhibit of the Month, Papua New Guinea: A Feather in the Cap, was concurrently on view in the Akeley Gallery (1). The exhibition was promoted through a radio advertisement which featured Frank Perdue (3) and a demonstration by Dana Moore of the Broadway musical Sugar Babies dancing with feather fans using two belonging to dancer Sally Rand (4).
Highlights (1; 4):
*Brazilian headdresses
*Feather pins from 19th century China
*Musical instrument from India in the form of a peacock
*Bornean woodcarving of a hornbill
*Specimens of birds used for feathers in the American Museum of Natural History's collections, including a bird of paradise, quetzal, bald eagle, and scarlet ibis
*Section on featherworking techniques
*Two ostrich feather fans used by dancer Sally Rand, loaned by the Chicago Historical Society
This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.