| 1. | a type of decoration using softened and usually dyed porcupine or bird quills. |
| 2. | an American Indian handicraft or utility item decorated in this manner. |
quill·work  (kwĭl'wûrk') n. Decorative articles made with overlaid porcupine quills by certain Native Americans. |
quillwork
type of embroidery done with the quills of a porcupine, or sometimes with bird feathers. This type of decoration was used by American Indians from Maine to Virginia and westward to the Rocky Mountains. For all practical purposes the art has died out. Quills were used on tobacco and tinder bags, knife and paintstick cases, cradles, armulets, burden straps, tunics, shirts, leggings, belts, moccasins, arm and leg bands, robes, horse trappings, and birchbark containers.
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