Roll Of Feather Money Analysis

Words: 438
Pages: 2

Art is something motionless which we might use to slow our perception of our world. It is not required that art be something still in motion but in thought. It is not something to be considered with only fleeting attention. A single painting could mean millions of different things to different people. It is the value of option and of insight that is so important. Forty-eight miles; is what lies between me and array of amazing works of art. What seems like a simple drive, the highway is filled with traffic going through I-64. Saint Louis Art Museum appears in my line of sight; the building has amazing architecture. The building takes on a 21st century style with columns and statues with marble like texture. On top of the beautiful architecture, it lies within the stunning Forest Park. …show more content…
According to the provenance, “And invoice dated May 9th, 1977 from Sotheby & Co. to Morton D. May documents the purchase of this object (Roll of Feather Money).” Around June 1982, Morton passed and in the Will and Testament was stated that the artifact was to be donated to the museum. Looking at this artifact there is no way of knowing what this could possibly be. At a first glace this vibrant red coil looks like it could have been something a tribe once wore during a ceremony. Oh, was I wrong. According to the information board, this 13 1/2 by 29 by 2-inch object was made from feathers, fiber, wood, turtle shell, glass bead, shell, Job’s tears seeds, bone, resin, and cotton cloth. This “Feather Money” known as tevau was a form of currency for a traditional wedding payment from the groom to the bride on the Santa Cruz Island. This project required three different specialist that had to create the tevau. The information board said that it took three hundred to six hundred birds to complete the roll. They would capture the birds, pluck the feathers, then release them. I would imagine most of these birds would not survive the