Porcupine Quills

Left: Quills of the North American porcupine. Right: Quills of the African porcupine. Left: Quills of the North American porcupine. Right: Quills of the African porcupine.

A porcupine is a rodent with a coat of sharp spines or quills, which are used to protect the animal against predators. Porcupines belong to the family of the Erethizontidae (genera: Chaetomys, Coendou, Echinoprocta, Erethizon and Sphiggurus) or of the Hystricidae (genera: Atherurus, Hystrix and Trichys). Porcupines are indigenous to Africa, the Americas, Europe and Southern Asia.

The quills differ in size, depending on where they grow on the animal’s body. The longest and coarsest quills come from the tail. In North American quillwork, these quills are used to fill in large areas. Quills from the back are next in size and are used in loom work. The thinner quills from the belly are used for making lines. The thinnest and most delicate quills come from the neck and are used in decorative needlework.

See also: Native American decorative needlework, and a work box from India, dated c. 1855, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Digital source of illustration (retrieved 27 June 2016).

SA

Last modified on Tuesday, 20 December 2016 19:35
More in this category: « Quills Buckskin »