Ostrich Feathers, Ancient Egypt, And Weddings in Ooltewah, TN

Within the confines of the Mountain Oaks Manor in Ooltewah, TN is a beautiful painting upon its second floor.  It is displayed prominently in the bridal suite, where every bride gets the chance to reflect upon the beauty and symbolism it represents.

The painting displays a young girl wearing a black and white ostrich feather dress with spaghetti straps, and her hair in a bun.  The symbolism in the painting is both poignant and meaningful.  

The ostrich feather represents a sacred item in ancient Egypt and the image for the goddess Ma’at. As the portrayal of heavenly truth, which included equity and astronomical requests, Ma’at determined the destiny of spirits in the afterlife. As such. Ma’at placed the dead individual’s heart upon a scale against her ostrich feather, the plume of truth, and if the heart exceeded the weight of the quill – implying that the human’s existence had not had the right stuff – the spirit would be annihilated. The individuals who breezed through the assessment, by having a heart that gauged less or equivalent to the plume, had the chance to proceed on to paradise. The ostrich feather along these lines is viewed as an incredible image of truth and immaculateness, and taking on the ostrich as a creature emblem can be an approach to hone in one’s energies in regard to carrying on with a fair life. As such, this painting indicates the importance of the bride living a fair and equitable life as she enters into marriage and possibly motherhood.

The dress in the painting also has classical spaghetti straps adorned upon the young lady’s shoulders.  Spaghetti straps address her jump from a more carefree existence into the more serious institution of marriage. Conversely, covered shoulders address security and chastity.  For instance, all royal brides emerge with covered shoulders on their wedding day.   

Finally, the future bride also has a graceful bun in her hair.  Although the bun hairdo is inseparable from artful dance, it owes its beginnings to the ladies of ancient Greece, who made a haircut currently known as the Greek bun. A straightforward, low-lying bun hitched at the rear of the neck, well-off Greek ladies normally enhanced the bun with adornments as a superficial point of interest.  In this painting, the bun signifies a higher social class for the future bride, as well as the fruitful marriage awaiting her.

To see this painting, as well as others within the walls of the Mountain Oaks Manor, please call 423-238-9333 or go to mountainoaksmanor.com.