Kingfisher Pendant

Tiny Messages

Have you ever thought about all the ways that humans communicate? How have these forms of communication changed over time? Look at this small artifact, what message is it intending to convey?

Cylinder seals, typically about an inch in length, were used in the Near East thousands of years ago as a form of documentation. Hardstones, ceramics, or shells were engraved with characters or scenes, the message was “read” when the impression was rolled onto a two-dimensional surface, generally wet clay.

Alberto Rey Work in Progress: Cylinder Seal

Kingfisher Pendant

Scientific Name......................................................No Data Description..................Tian-Tsui Style, 19th Century China BMoS Catalog No...................................................C18523 Collection Site.......................................................... China Collection Date..........................................................1954 Acquired By..............................Gift of Chauncey J. Hamlin China

ARTIFACT SIZE: 1.75in. x 3.25in.

PAINTING SIZE: 44in. x 48in. Photo of artifact illustrates actual size in relation to the size of the finished painting shown at left.

Buffalo Museum of Science Cabinet of Curiosity

Take a Closer Look

This finely crafted pendant from China has striking colors of iridescent blue and the pale pink of the coral beads. How was the blue color achieved?

Looking closely at something can reveal so much. This pendant is known as Tian-tsui, a style of Chinese art utilizing the feathers from a group of birds known as kingfishers (family Alcedinidae). The iridescent blue in this pendant is made by inlaying feathers onto gilt silver. The earliest written references to the use of kingfisher feathers as decorative elements in China dates from the Han dynasty (206 BCE to AD 220). The production of Tian-tsui jewelry ended in the 1940s in an attempt to protect the kingfisher population.

Rat-tail Earring

Scientific Name......................................................No Data Description..........................................Rat Tail, Plant Fiber BMoS Catalog No...................................................C11206 Collection Site....Kairuku Subdistrict, Papua New Guinea Collection Date.......................................................... 1938 Collected By....................................................P.G.T. Black Kairuku Subdistrict Papua New Guinea

ARTIFACT SIZE: 1.5in. x 2.5in.

PAINTING SIZE: 48in. x 54in. Photo of artifact illustrates actual size in relation to the size of the finished painting shown at left.