Here’s something new to learn on Saturday!
Another character from my upcoming work. I’ve always been in awe of the beauty of what the ancient Chinese called “dian cui” 点翠, kingfisher feather ornaments. Those pins in her hair are not teal colored stones, but actual bird feathers, clipped to fit into the jewelry setting. The earliest examples of kingfisher feathers being used in ornaments like this was from the Han Dynasty around 202 BCE, possibly even earlier.
Here’s a close up of real examples of dian cui. You can see how the craftsmen positioned each clipping they used to fit the setting, and how vibrant the colors remained even to this day. Many of the surviving pieces are absolutely priceless! But…
The jewelry was made using real kingfisher feathers, which demand eventually drove to the practice of harvesting the feathers at the cost of the bird’s life, yet gained the most popularity during the Qing Dynasty. Feathers were harvested by plucking high volumes of them from the backs of live birds that cost the birds lives during the process, or shortly after. The practice decimated the species of kingfishers from Cambodia to meet demand, and once threatened to drive kingfishers in the region to extinction. Now, it is prohibited from harvesting kingfisher feathers, so modern alternatives use dyed goose feathers or sustainably acquired peacock feathers to emulate the effect of the dian cui. While I can appreciate the iconic beauty of the artistry crafted from ancient China, I’m thankful we can still appreciate today the natural species of birds that inspired the jewelry of the past.