Blue Jay Bird Pin
notes: label: Description
content: This finished blue jay is one of the more beautiful birds Sadao Oka carved. It's a great example of the photo realism that he was able to accomplish. This carving is also a great example of how he used a reference to carve. He used one of the Audubon identification cards as a base, and there is even another blue jay carving (accession number 2016.0117.009) that is in the same exact position. Even the details of the feathers are in the same pattern. The precision and accuracy of Mr. Oka's carvings are remarkable. The birds legs are made out of extra wire from the mesh that covered barrack windows, but to make the wire look like bird legs, Mr. Oka would wrap a thin thread (accession number 2016.0117.099) that matched the color of the leg. There were so many small details that Mr. Oka was able to master in his spare time during his incarceration.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
setName: label: See more items in
content: Military and Society: Armed Forces History, Japanese American
label: See more items in
content: Executive Order 9066
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Jane Oka
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2016.0117.089
label: accession number
content: 2016.0117
label: catalog number
content: 2016.0117.089
objectType: label: Object Name
content: pin
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: wire (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: metal (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: blue (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: brown (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: black (overall color)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 2 in x 1 1/2 in x 1/2 in; 5.08 cm x 3.81 cm x 1.27 cm