Wicker crown or chaplet covered outside with hummingbird feathers.

Collection type: Object
Description: Wicker crown or chaplet covered outside with hummingbird feathers.
Geographical reference: Ecuador
Latin America and the Caribbean > South America > Ecuador
Cultural groups: Achuar; Shiwiar; Shuar
Person: Field collector Ronald Hawkesby Thomas; PRM source Ronald Hawkesby Thomas
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1936
Date collected: By 1936
Acquisition information: Donated: 1936
Materials and processes: Material Bird Feather, Material Plant Fibre, Process Wicker Woven, Process Covered, Process Basketry
Dimensions: Diameter: max 180 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1936.53.46
Research and responses: Jefferson Acacho (a leader of the Shuar federation in Zamora, Ecuador) says that some of these crowns (including 1936.53.47 and .48) do not seem to be authentically Shuar. They are not well made enough to be used by the community and were most likely specifically sold as souvenirs. These types of crown were worn by men of lower status than the chiefs/important men in the community. The red feathers in this crown may be from a woodpecker (Pàjero carpintero). Green feathers were not typically used by Shuar makers. Information provided through community consultation in March 2022 and compiled by Rosa Dyer, a CDP student at Birkbeck College/Pitt Rivers Museum.

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