Feather Fetish #2

Ken Shores, Feather Fetish #2, 1985, stoneware with gold luster and parakeet feathers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Richard T. Evans Fund, 2001.2
Copied Ken Shores, Feather Fetish #2, 1985, stoneware with gold luster and parakeet feathers, 6 1211 1810 78 in. (16.528.227.6 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Richard T. Evans Fund, 2001.2

Artwork Details

Title
Feather Fetish #2
Artist
Date
1985
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
6 1211 1810 78 in. (16.528.227.6 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Richard T. Evans Fund
Mediums Description
stoneware with gold luster and parakeet feathers
Classifications
Keywords
  • Abstract
  • Object — other — feather
Object Number
2001.2

Artwork Description

Feather Fetish #2 is part of a series Ken Shores started in 1968 after a trip to Peru. The combination of clay and feathers recalls fetish objects that feature in many religions worldwide. These objects are man-made items created from natural materials like stone or ivory and are believed to hold supernatural powers. Shores often encased his fetish objects in small, glass vitrines, which emphasize the preciousness of the object by limiting our access to it. Here, the ceramic form both protects and reveals a cluster of delicate parakeet feathers at the center. In many native cultures, feathers are regarded as valuable and beautiful, a fact Shores reinforces by adding gold luster to the clay.