2051) "Plumassier Crafts (or Plumasserie)" France: "La Poste" (French Post) has issued a stamp of 1.50 Euro depicting the Art: Date of Stamp issue: 27.09.2021:
About Plumassier Crafts (or "Plumasserie"):
Stamps commemorating the "Art of Plumassier" (which is also known as "Feather work") have been issued by La Poste France (French Post). Feather-work is the working of feathers into a work of art or cultural artifact.
Pluming is an activity that concerns the preparation of bird feathers and their use in the making of objects or ornaments often for clothing.
Origins of Plumaire Art:
A term of French origin "Plumassier" relates to the work of feathers, associated with the manufacture of hats, clothes and suits, plumes for the military or cushions etc.
In its traditional form, pluming is, as old as, human societies.
Feather Art is a sacred art practiced by social groups through the use of feathers of different species of birds. This was especially elaborate among the peoples of Oceania and the Americas, such as the Incas and Aztecs.
With a symbolic content, it is mainly established in Latin America, among the Amerindian peoples during major events, ritual practices and ceremonies - like the "Kayapos" or "Rikbaktsas" in Brazil.
The technique can be achieved by gluing and ligating feathers to make masks, headdresses, ornaments or body ornaments (lips, ears, nostrils, etc.).
Feathered cloaks and headdresses include the ʻahuʻula capes and mahiole helmets were worn by Hawaiian royalty; many are now on display in museums across the world.
"Kāhili" are a type of feathered standard, another symbol of royalty. The introduction of foreign species, overhunting, and environment changes drove birds with desirable feathers, such as the ‘ō‘ō and mamo, to extinction, although the ʻiʻiwi managed to survive despite its popularity.
Mexican feather work was a Pre-Columbian art form which was continued after the Conquest of Mexico, originally organized by the Spanish occupiers, into a luxury export trade, sending objects back to Europe. Immediately after the conquest existing objects such as Montezuma's headdress, (now in Vienna), were admired in the courts of Europe.
Although feather-work is primarily used for clothing, headdresses, ceremonial shields, and tapestries, the "Pomo" peoples of California are famous for the minute feather-work of their grass baskets, many of which are on display in Museums in Washington.
The "Maori" of New Zealand used featherwork to construct cloaks for clothing and to decorate kete (bags) and weapons.
"Plumasserie" in France & Europe:
At the time of Charlemagne the elegant gentry were adorned with peacock feathers and flamingos.
In the Thirteenth Century, Prelates and Lords wore hats adorned, perhaps even formed, with peacock feathers.
Around the Fifteenth Century, Peacock hatters took the name of plumassiers around the fifteenth century.
The first statutes, were granted to hatters in 08/1577, were revised and renewed in 07/1599 and 07/1659, which describe the masters as plumassiers - plumers - bouquet blossoms, and they are preceded by rather strange recitals.
The apprenticeship usually lasted six years, followed by four years of companionship.
Under the terms of their statutes, plumassiers had the right to make "all kinds of head dressings", plumes, hats and caps of masquerades, bouquets for churches, toques, egrets, garlands for carousels, ballets and ring races; they could dye all kinds of feathers in all colors, enrich them and embellish them with gold and silver true or false. They mainly used the feathers of ostrich, heron, rooster, goose, vulture, peacock and jay.
At the end of the Eighteenth Century, the number of master plumassiers, in Paris, was 25.
Their patron saint was Saint George, whose feast they celebrated on April 23rd at the church of Saint-Denis-de-la-Chartre.
At the beginning of the Fourteenth Century, ostrich feathers enhanced the ceremonial hairstyles.
When Louis XII entered Genoa in April 1507, he wore a helmet crowned with a forest of straight feathers, from which emerged a falling plume.
A white feather adorned the black velvet cap fashionable under Francis I.
Under Louis XIV and until the French Revolution, feathers figured in the adornment of women and men.
Under Louis XVI, the hairstyles became very extravagant.
In the Nineteenth Century, in Western civilizations, this activity gradually developed to the point of acquiring, a commercial and industrial status in the fields of ethnography, art, fashion, commerce or nature conservation.
The Nineteenth Century saw new varieties of feathers being introduced. At this time the feathers were separated into two categories; the "ostrich feather" and all other varieties, the "fancy feather".
Black heron or fine heron feathers were much rarer and much more expensive than those of the ostrich - Germany and Turkey supplied them.
In Fashion, the use of feathers as a plume was also a military ornament, or for adorning the hats of women. They were also used to decorate certain pieces of furniture such as dais or bed imperials.
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, feathers, plumes and bouquets of feathers on military headgear were widespread in German and Austrian uniforms. Thanks to their particular colour and shape, it was easy to recognize the regiment or company to which the soldiers belonged.
Decline in Bird Species:
This flourishing industry in the nineteenth century led to the intensive hunting of some birds causing the decline or disappearance of some species.
Animal Protection Associations such as the "Royal Society for the Protection of Birds" or the "League for the Protection of Birds" were set up to combat this menace.
Paradise trees, egrets and crested grebes were the stakes of important struggles in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the hunting of birds for their feathers still threatens certain species such as the red ibis.
The Decline of pluming:
The wearing of hats fell into disuse in the 1960s, leading to the disappearance of plumassiers' houses. The number of French plumassiers' houses fell from more than three hundred in the 1900s to about fifty in 1960.
The profession of plumassière is now disappearing with awareness spreading world-wide to pritect the fauna and restore the balance in nature.
The Stamp:
The stamp of 1.50 Euro issued by La Poste, France is titled - "METIERS D'ART"
The Information Brochure
Various types of feathers used in hats etc.
Technical details:
Issue Date: 27.09.2021
Designer: Helene Cayre
Illustrator: Helene Cayre
Process: Mixte
Links to other posts on Metropolis Tiffany Art Coin Series:
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