Accession No

E 1903.442


Description

A round cap/headdress of woven fibres with red and yellow macaw feathers on the exterior with a deep fringe of longer feathers towards the back. Two rows of long blue and red feathers hanging from the back of the cap, all with plumes of dark blue/black feathers attached to the ends.


Place

Americas; South America; Brazil; Rio Cadereyta; Rio Tapajós


Period


Source

Giglioli, Enrico Hillyer (Prof.) [donor]


Department

Anth


Reference Numbers

E 1903.442; MAA: AR 1904.1010


Cultural Affliation

Munduruku; Mundurucu


Material

Feather; Fibre; Plant


Local Term


Measurements

530mm


Events

Description (Labels & Markings)
Old label accompanies object [not transcribed]
Event Date
Author: rachel hand


Context (Field collection)
Accession register for E 1903.442: 'Rio Caderery (Tapajoz) Brazil 1850'.
Event Date 1850
Author: maa


Description (Physical description)
A round cap of parrot's feathers (macaw) red and yellow with a deep fringe of longer feathers at the back.
Event Date 1903
Author: maa


Context (Acquisition Details)
Acquired by exchange with Professor E. H. Giglioli in 1903.
Event Date 1903
Author: Lucie Carreau


Context (Display)
Exhibited: Removed from display case 69a, August 1986.
Event Date 08/1986
Author: rachel hand


Context (Related Documents)
'Reference photograph attached to rear of catalogue card, taken in 2000 during the DCF Shorts project, R.Hand, 2007/01'
Event Date 1/1/2007
Author: rachel hand


Description (Physical description)
A round cap/headdress of woven fibres with red and yellow macaw feathers on the exterior with a deep fringe of longer feathers towards the back. Two rows of long blue and red feathers hanging from the back of the cap, all with plumes of dark blue/black feathers attached to the ends.
Event Date 9/7/2021
Author: Louise Puckett


Conservation (Surface Clean)
CON.2022.5383 | Surface Clean
Event Date 9/6/2022
Author: Ayesha Fuentes


Description (Physical description)
This type of headdress is characteristic of Munduruku / Mundurucu people in Brazil.

The golden feather with burst of red on the crown of the headdress were produced by Tapirage, the technique of changing the colours on living birds.
Event Date 30/1/2024
Author: Anita Herle


Context (Display)
The headdress was displayed in the exhibition COLOUR: Art, Science & Power, July 2022 - 23 April 2023 with the following label:

Feathered headdress
Munduruku people, Rio Cadereyta, Brazil, 19th century
The feathers on the crown of this headdress don’t reflect the natural colours of the species of parrot they came from. In the wild the feathers would have been green or blue. The golden feathers with bursts of red were produced by tapirage, a remarkable technique used by numerous Amazonian groups to change the colour of feathers on living parrots.
The highly desired golden feathers were used in various styles of headdresses worn by different groups during communal ritual dances. Associated with the sun, the golden colour marked the transformation of both humans and parrots in the celestial realm.
Donated by Enrico Hillyer Giglioli, MAA E 1903.442

Event Date 30/1/2024
Author: Anita Herle


Context (Analysis)
Examined by Anita Herle and Rosa Dyer (a AHRC CDP doctoral student at the Pitt Rivers Museum/ Birkbeck University) on 31 Jan 2024. Rosa's research focuses on the use of feathers in objects made by South American Indigenous peoples. The crown of the headdress is covered with parrot feathers, wrapped and bound into a cotton inner cap made with a tight spiral weave. Many of the yellow/gold feathers were produced by tapirage. The side tassels are composed of the red breast feathers of a parrot, with black curassow feathers at the bottom. The long feathers at the back are a combination of scarlet macaw (yellowish on reverse) and blue and yellow macaw. Tassels of black curassow feathers hang from the bottom of the macaw feathers.
Event Date 31/1/2024
Author: Anita Herle


FM:113246

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