Keratin-based materials

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Textile Specialty Group Conservation Wiki

Editors: Abby Cottier, Janet Lee, and Jackie Peterson-Grace.

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Copyright: 2025. The Textile Wiki pages are a publication of the Textile Specialty Group of the American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The Textile Wiki pages are published for the members of the Textile Specialty Group. Publication does not endorse or recommend any treatments, methods, or techniques described herein.

This entry is a Draft

Hair and fur

Examples of hair and fur in dress and textile collections

Fur coats and accessories, hair jewelry, etc.

Identification techniques

Microscopy, etc.

Condition concerns for hair and fur

Climate causing brittleness, fur falling off of skin, etc.

Feathers

Examples of feathers in dress and textile collections

Fabrics woven with feathers, headdresses and hats, fans, boas, etc.

Identification techniques

Microscopy, etc.

Condition concerns for feathers

Brittleness, broken shafts and barbs, loss of shape, etc.

Considerations for treatment

Because of the ease with which the shape of feathers can be distorted, careful handling is of great importance. Feathers can be cleaned in a variety of ways.

Horn

Examples of horn in dress and textile collections

Buttons, jewelry, etc.

Identification techniques

Visual inspection, etc.

Condition concerns for horn

Brittleness, splitting, etc.

Considerations for treatment

Should not be wet cleaned.

Quills

Examples of quills in dress and textile collections

Porcupine quills are most often found in collections of indigenous North American dress and textiles. Many indigenous groups use quills couched onto leather as a form of embroidery. Quills are also sometimes used in indigenous jewelry and accessories.

Identification techniques

Visual inspection, etc.

Condition concerns for quills

Dissociation and loss, brittleness, etc.

Baleen

Examples of baleen in dress and textile collections

Baleen is most often found in collections of Western dress from the eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. Baleen was valued for its unique combination of rigidity and flexibility and was commonly used for structure in corsets and bodices.

Identification techniques

Visual inspection, etc.

Condition concerns for baleen

Brittleness, dissociation, etc.

Considerations for treatment

Baleen should not be wet cleaned. If a garment using baleen boning is to be wet cleaned, the baleen bones should be removed first and re-inserted once the garment is dry.

Further Reading

Lauffenburger, Julie A. 1993. "Baleen in Museum Collections: Its Sources, Uses, and Identification." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 32 (3): 213-230.

Pearlstein, Ellen, M. Hughs, J. Mazurek, K. McGraw, C. Pesme, and M. Garcia-Garibay. 2014. "Correlations between Photomechanical Damage and UV Fluorescence of Feathers." Preprints: ICOM-CC 17th Triennial Conference, Melbourne, Australia, September 15-19th.

Pearlstein, Ellen, ed. 2017. The Conservation of Featherwork from Central and South America. London: Archetype Publications.

Renée, Riddler, Christel Pesme, James Druzik, Molly Gleeson, Ellen Pearlstein. 2014. "A Review of Color-Producing Mechanisms in Feathers and Their Influence on Preventive Conservation Strategies." Journal of American Institute for Conservation 53 (1): 44-65.

UCLA/Getty Conservation. 2024. The Art & Science of Feathers, Biology, Persistence, and Meaning. Symposium May 10–11, 2024. (conservation.ucla.edu)

Wright, Margot M., ed. 2002. The Conservation of Fur, Feather, and Skin. London: Archetype.