Ostrich feather

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A male of the African ostrich presents its magnificent white feathers on the wing tips

Ostrich feathers (also known as ostrich feathers ) are the feathers of the African ostrich ( Struthio camelus ). In particular, the white tail feathers of the roosters and the white hand wings on the wing tips of ostriches of both sexes are understood. For a long time, these were coveted as decorative accessories and were considered to be the “most exquisite decorative feathers”.

function

Ostriches are unable to fly. Their feathers could therefore take on other functions in the course of evolution. The roosters have black plumage and white splendid or decorative feathers on both the wing tips and the tail. The gray-brown feathered hens also have white feathers on the wing tips and gray-brown feathers on the tail.

The decorative feathers were formed in the course of evolution from the flywheel and control feathers that had become inoperable after the loss of flight ability . By spreading the wings, the feathers on the wing tips also function as a source of shade when it is very hot.

use

antiquity

Ostrich feathers have been a popular ornament since ancient times . As early as the 2nd century BC BC the hunt for ostriches can be proven.

The Egyptian hieroglyph
H6
( H6 ) is generally interpreted as an ostrich feather. With the ancient Egyptians , the ostrich feather was considered a symbol of justice because of its symmetry . It can be found as a symbol nationwide on ancient Egyptian buildings of all dynasties.

Modern times

Rembrandt : Portrait of a Lady with an Ostrich Feather (around 1660)

In Europe, in the 18th century, ostrich feathers became so fashionable as hat decoration, especially among wealthy women, that the hunt for birds reached such proportions that the species was soon threatened. As a decorative accessory, naturally white ostrich feathers were particularly popular.

After wild ostriches had become extremely rare at the beginning of the 19th century, these animals began to be bred. The first ostrich farm was established in South Africa in 1838. In breeding, the focus was on selecting good quality feathers. With the First World War, the spring trade collapsed; today the extraction of ostrich feathers only plays a subordinate role in ostrich farming.

Due to their electrostatic properties, ostrich feathers are still used today for the production of feather dusters or technical brushes .

  • Beret of a nobleman of the 16th century with an ostrich feather

  • Ostrich feather hat (1911)

  • Fan made of ostrich feathers (around 1920)

  • Feather duster made from black ostrich feathers

heraldry

The ostrich feather also appeared in heraldry in the 18th and 19th centuries and was mainly used as a helmet jewel , and more rarely as a common figure . Ostrich feathers are used as crests , especially in Polish heraldry and on the coats of arms of German student associations .

Biret duc.png
Biret comte.png
Biret baron.png
Biret Chevalier.png
Birets as a badge of rank in Napoleonic heraldry: Duke, Count, Baron, Chevalier (from left to right)

In Napoleonic heraldry , the previous crowns of rank were replaced by a system of hats in which, among other things, the number of ostrich feathers represented the status of the wearer. The chevaliers wore one pen, barons three, counts five and dukes seven.

See also

literature

  • Ostrich feathers. In: Pierer's Universal-Lexikon , Volume 16. Altenburg 1863, p. 914. ( Online )
  • Peter Behrens: ostrich feather. In: Wolfgang Helck , Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf (eds.): Lexicon of Egyptology. Volume VI: Stele - Cypress . Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1986. ISBN 3-447-02663-4 . Pp. 77-81.

Web links

Commons : Ostrich Feathers  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files
Wiktionary: Ostrich feather  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon: "Federn" , Volume 6. Leipzig 1906, pp. 374–376.
  2. ↑ Anja-Christin Schulz: Studies on the behavior and keeping of African ostriches (Struthio camelus) under German climatic conditions (PDF file; 2.36 MB). Inaugural dissertation, Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich 2004. p. 3.
  3. ↑ Anja-Christin Schulz: Studies on the behavior and keeping of African ostriches (Struthio camelus) under German climatic conditions (PDF file; 2.36 MB). Inaugural dissertation, Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich 2004. p. 23.
  4. ↑ Anja-Christin Schulz: Studies on the behavior and keeping of African ostriches (Struthio camelus) under German climatic conditions (PDF file; 2.36 MB). Inaugural dissertation, Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich 2004. p. 4.
  5. ↑ Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf (ed.): Lexicon of Egyptology. Volume VI. Stele - cypress. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 1986. ISBN 3-447-02663-4 . P. 77.
  6. ↑ Anja-Christin Schulz: Studies on the behavior and keeping of African ostriches (Struthio camelus) under German climatic conditions (PDF file; 2.36 MB). Inaugural dissertation, Veterinary Faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich 2004. p. 2.
  7. ↑ Otto Titan von Hefner: Handbook of theoretical and practical heraldry , Heraldisches Institut, Munich 1861. P. 81.
  8. ↑ Gerhard Richwien: “The legacy of the orders. Symbolic world of the Enlightenment and knightly identification patterns in academic corporations, ”. In: Erich Donnert (Hrsg.): Europe in the early modern times: Festschrift for Günter Mühlpfordt. Volume 6: Central, Northern and Eastern Europe. Böhlau, Cologne 2002. ISBN 3-412-14799-0 . P. 627 ff., Here: P. 637.