I'd love to see it. These were done many times in history, so without a frame to view (if it's original) or seeing the pic it's hard to guess when it was done, but their most recent resurgance was in the 1950's. There were actually kits to do them, but many people did their own. They can date back as far as the 16th century. The most common ones are suprisingly birds heh heh Probably "just a housewife" but still, pretty darned cool!

I looked up bird feather picture and I do see all those pics of birds on branches, feathers trailing, with the branches painted and maybe a few leaves...that's not what this is at all. It's the entire surface, clouds, trees, house, etc. all rendered in bird feathers. I remember sommething like that from Victorian era, yes? but the frame on this says 50s-60s to me. I've got pics but I need my DH to upload them (I keep forgetting how..I'm so bad...I am going to get him to write down the directions--for some reason I block those out of my head) tonight so you can see.

Oh ya, as I mentioned they have been done for many years and yup, in the victorian times as well :) It sounds pretty wonderful! I'm always amazed at the work involved in things of that nature. They come and go in popularity (making them I mean). It could be that it was reframed at one point in the 50's when it was popular again. Call DH and rush him home LOL

Here are some pics--a full one, and just a couple of detail pics from each side. Should mention that the dimension of the actual piece (not including the underwhelming frame) is 17x25.

I am also including as a visual party favor a very cool pine needle basket-like thing I found -- it has a number like an inventory number written on a piece of leather inside it, but this is the outside. It's lacquered and tough and who would think to make a shell out of pine needles? :)

Here is a link that might be useful: I am the Finder of odd labor-intensive Things :)

Linda, I'm crushed you haven't weighed in on this...is it too weird? (igloo, I *know* it can't be too weird for you :))

The more I look at it, the more I am amazed by it--the maker used the patterns within the feathers as part of the line of the image, and the 'andamento', as we call it in mosaics, is so clear in different places...I can't find anything right now online close to it. Oregon breeds originals...(hm, might be a good state motto, actually, except maybe "breeds" might suggest inbreeding, and that we don't want LOL)

Oh I think it's really cool. (The pic and the basket too LOL) The frame does scream 50's but the picture is tough to figure out. It could be older, newer, gad who knows :) I would guess that the glues used would be a good clue...can you tell what it is?

You have to appreciate the amount of work that went into that darned thing!! It's very well done...I'd have given up and stuffed a pillow with the darned feathers before the ground in the pic was laid heh heh

The pine basked (or coiled basket) is nice as well. Pine baskets were originally made by the First Citizens (native american's or alaskan natives). I've seen many in my days (I attend all of the Native art fairs here because I used to buy for my employer's art collection). You do see forms now a days that are less useful and more decorative (which I'd definately say that is) but once again, no matter who made it, that darned think took some work!

Is it too weird LOL I have a shoe made in the 17th century and a rifle with hearts on it right here in the same room...weird, neh :oP Just cool!

I love it. The frame doesn't do it justice.

I have seen feather pictures, but never anything quite like that.
I believe it's not a "genre" but rather someone's individual expression of their art.
Is it under glass? Feathers deteriorate very quickly if not protected and often even if they are protected, so I don't think it's "very old"....what ever that might mean!!
If I had to guess....I'd say 70's.....there was lots of kitchy stuff like that going on during the hippy era.
But I don;t think this was a kit.....this was someone's "art".
And the pine basket is wonderful! Baskets have been made of pine by folk artists as well as native Americans for hundereds of years, wherever long needle pines grow and a tradition of basket making exists.
North Carolina is noted for it's long needle pine baskets, and the craft has been noted in the Southwest mountain states, south central as well as the pacific northwest.
Your lovely conch shell I think if rather recent as it's art rather than an item made to be used.
Early baskets were first of all useful and secondarioly beautiful. That conch basket is purely art...has no use that I can see, but the artist used a method of making a useful item to make an expression of his vision.
The feather picture is interesting.....the coiled basket is terrific!!
Linda C

igloo, I can't see *any* open space on it to see into glue...it's on *luan* thin plywood, completely covered on one side, so it has to have been made after luan came on the market, which says at least 50s-60s to me, right?

And the basket--I've wanted to find a pine needle basket for a while, and this one was esp. cool because the stems are used so intrinsically. There is *no* practical use for this, but it's clearly finished, as it's got that number inside it (5270 in ballpoint pen on a piece of leather) and it's lacquered. Have you ever seen anything like this pine-shell?

palimpsest, have you ever run across something like this? I do recall Victorian pieces but can't find any on the net right now.

-----I finally found something! It's from 1618, but hey. Look at the third picture :) These are all amazing, though. Doesn't help with my particular piece, but at least I'm on the path now...

Here is a link that might be useful: hilarious...

Hey linda,

Our posts crossed. Glad you like the pine objet :) There's a pretty big basketmaking community out here too, esp. connected with native groups.

Re the feather piece: You make a good point -- I think I'll have the feather piece reframed and put under glass--what do you think? with some kind of standoff as with oil pastel, so the glass wouldn't be touching the feathers...and what kind of frame would be right for the feather piece, I wonder...

Here's something funny--I decided I'd try to look up "basketry art" on google to see what I can find in terms of further resources...

turns out that of everywhere in the country it could be, the National Basketry Organization's biennial conference is in my town this year, in August!

Here is a link that might be useful: well, guess that weekend's taken :)

You would probably want to have it framed with a fillet to raise the glass off the surface. IMO it might look nice with a linen fillet and a flat frame, probably black. of medium width.

You could begin getting an estimate of its age by looking at the construction of the plywood. It has been made for quite some time, but the methods used varied a lot. "Modern" plywood dates to about WWII.

I have four or five feather pictures, but mine are of birds, and not nearly as elaborate as yours. I have no idea of their age, because it was an auction find of my mother's and I plan to display them, even though they're sort of kitschy because they're on that fine line of tasteful, or not and I can't decide. Definitely different.

O.K., palimpsest, I'll look for that kind of arrangement. I have some oil pastels that have been framed with a standoff behind a simple paper matting -- no fillet--a clean look; is the fillet considered more 'classic'? I'll compare the two.

calliope, yes, I can find those bird feather pieces - usually they're on branches and the piece itself is taller than it is wide, yes? I hear you on the fine line issue :)

And the plywood has luan (used in flush doors in the 50s and 60s, and probably 70s too) on the back, so that's a slight lead.

I see that this thread is a bit dated, but would love to see the pictures of the piece to compare to a piece I have on my wall. Only thing I can find on the artist is he is from Indonesia.

Click on the link in post #5 and scroll down :-)