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Cowhide is the natural, unbleached skin and hair of a cow. It retains the original coloring of the animal. Cowhides are a product of the food industry from cattle. Cowhide is frequently processed into leather.
Once a cow has been killed, the skin is removed. It is then selected in the raw state, at the very first moment when it is salted. It is organized by size and color. In the tannery, a traditional hair on hide tanning method is employed to ensure that the hide is soft, and less susceptible to odour and moulting. It ensures that the cowhide will last longer. It is then naturally dried and the best hides are separated from the rest, with the ones that cannot be used in full as decorative items separated to be used as patchwork rugs. These are usually those with damage (for example cuts and other injuries to the skin during the life of the animal) that causes the skin to tear post drying.
Cowhide can be dyed to resemble skins such as tiger or zebra skins, but dyeing is usually reserved for the lower quality cowhides. The best quality hides are usually presented in their natural colors, which are based on the breed of the bovine.
Among the southern African Zulu people, cowhide was employed in various ways, though it has recently been relegated to ceremonial use. Cowhide was used to make Nguni shields and the traditional skirt called the isidwaba . Men wore a calfskin flap, the ibeshu, to cover the buttocks, and the umutsha loin cloth was tied to the body with a cow hide belt. The iphovela was a headdress made of cow skin, and the ishoba or umshokobezi was a tufted cowtail used as an arm or leg decoration. [1]
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, and aquatic animals such as seals and alligators.
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and young calves.
Vellum is prepared animal skin or "membrane", typically used as a material for writing on. Parchment is another term for this material, and if vellum is distinguished from this, it is by its being made from calfskin, as opposed to that from other animals, or otherwise being of higher quality. Vellum is prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices or books. The word is borrowed from Old French vélin 'calfskin', from the Latin word vitulinum 'made from calf'.
Tanning is the process of treating skins and hides of animals to produce leather. A tannery is the place where the skins are processed.
Cosmetics are constituted from a mixture of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics designed for skin care can be used to cleanse, exfoliate and protect the skin, as well as replenishing it, through the use of cleansers, toners, serums, moisturizers, and balms; cosmetics designed for more general personal care, such as shampoo and body wash, can be used to cleanse the body; cosmetics designed to enhance one's appearance (makeup) can be used to conceal blemishes, enhance one's natural features, add color to a person's face and, in the case of more extreme forms of makeup used for performances, fashion shows and people in costume, can be used to change the appearance of the face entirely to resemble a different person, creature or object. Cosmetics can also be designed to add fragrance to the body.
Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word taxidermy describes the process of preserving the animal, but the word is also used to describe the end product, which are called taxidermy mounts or referred to simply as "taxidermy".
A branding iron is used for branding, pressing a heated metal shape against an object or livestock with the intention of leaving an identifying mark.
A hide or skin is an animal skin treated for human use. The word "hide" is related to the German word "Haut" which means skin. The industry defines hides as "skins" of large animals e.g. cow, buffalo; the skins refer to "skins" of smaller animals: goat, sheep, deer, pig, fish, alligator, snake, etc. Common commercial hides include leather from cattle and other livestock animals, buckskin, alligator skin and snake skin. All are used for shoesclothes, leather bags, belts, or other fashion accessories. Leather is also used in cars, upholstery, interior decorating, horse tack and harnesses. Skins are sometimes still gathered from hunting and processed at a domestic or artisanal level but most leather making is now industrialized and large-scale. Various tannins are used for this purpose. Hides are also used as processed chews for dogs or other pets.
Rawhide is a hide or animal skin that has not been exposed to tanning. It is similar to parchment, much lighter in color than leather made by traditional vegetable tanning.
Livestock branding is a technique for marking livestock so as to identify the owner. Originally, livestock branding only referred to hot branding large stock with a branding iron, though the term now includes alternative techniques. Other forms of livestock identification include freeze branding, inner lip or ear tattoos, earmarking, ear tagging, and radio-frequency identification (RFID), which is tagging with a microchip implant. The semi-permanent paint markings used to identify sheep are called a paint or colour brand. In the American West, branding evolved into a complex marking system still in use today.
Vark, also called varak, is super fine filigree foil sheet of pure metals, typically silver but sometimes gold, used to decorate South Asian sweets and food, but also placed on mounds of saffroned rice served on platters, to make those look more appetising. The silver and gold are edible, though flavorless. Varak is made by pounding silver into sheets less than one micrometre (μm) thick, typically 0.2 μm-0.8 μm. The silver sheets are typically packed between layers of paper for support; this paper is peeled away before use. It is fragile and breaks into smaller pieces if handled with direct skin contact. Leaf that is 0.2 μm thick tends to adhere to skin if handled directly. Vark sheets are laid or rolled over some South Asian sweets, confectionery, dry fruits and spices. For safety and ethical reasons, the government of India has issued food safety and product standards guidelines for manufacturers of silver foil.
Animal glue is an organic colloid of protein derivation used as an adhesive, sizing and coating, compo, and for colloidal applications in industry which is derived primarily from collagenous material present in animal hide or from the extraction of collagen present in animal bones, primarily cattle or derived from recycled gelatin.
Rabbit-skin glue is a sizing that also acts as an adhesive. It is essentially refined rabbit collagen, and was originally used as an ingredient in traditional gesso.
The conservation and restoration of parchment constitutes the care and treatment of parchment materials which have cultural and historical significance. Typically undertaken by professional book and document conservators, this process can include preventive measures which protect against future deterioration as well as specific treatments to alleviate changes already caused by agents of deterioration.
Kangaroo leather is a strong light weight leather derived from the hide of the kangaroo.
The isidwaba[isidʷaːɓa], a traditional Zulu leather skirt worn by married woman, is made from the hide of animals that belonged to the woman's father. This article will illustrate how the traditional skirt is made and at which occasions it is worn. It further describes the various designs and patterns of an isidwaba and how they are perceived in society, including the symbolic anthropology associations of the isidwaba.
The conservation and restoration of fur objects is the preservation and protection of objects made from or containing fur. These pieces can include personal items like fur clothing or objects of cultural heritage that are housed in museums and collections. When dealing with the latter, a conservator-restorer often handles their care, whereas, for the public, professional furriers can be found in many neighborhoods.
Goat farming involves the raising and breeding of domestic goats as a branch of animal husbandry. People farm goats principally for their meat, milk, fibre and skins.
A Nguni shield is a traditional, pointed oval-shaped, ox or cowhide shield which is used by various ethnic groups among the Nguni people of southern Africa. Currently it is used by diviners or for ceremonial and symbolic purposes, and many are produced for the tourist market. A cow-hide shield is known as isihlangu, ihawu or ingubha in Zulu, and ikhaka or ikhawu in Xhosa. Strictly speaking these native names denote shields of different application, and additional types are known by other names. War shields were traditionally stockpiled by a chief or king, to whom they belonged, while a smaller shield was reserved for his subordinates' personal daily use, or as a complement at their dancing ceremonies. True Nguni shields are made of raw cattle hide, as the esteemed Sanga-Nguni cattle lend distinction to the shields, which are more than mere commodities for physical protection.
Traditional Inuit clothing is a complex system of cold-weather garments historically made from animal hide and fur, worn by the Inuit, a group of culturally related indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic areas of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. The most basic traditional outfit consisted of a coat (parka), pants, mittens, inner footwear, and outer boots made of animal hide and fur. The most common sources of hide were caribou, seals and seabirds, although other animals were used when available. Production of warm, durable clothing was an essential survival skill for the Inuit, which was traditionally passed down from adult women to girls. Preparation of clothing was an intensive, weeks-long process that occurred on a yearly cycle following traditional hunting seasons. The creation and use of skin clothing was strongly intertwined with Inuit religious beliefs.
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