Recently, we introduced two illusions: Feature inheritance and shine-throug
h (Herzog & Koch, 2001). In both cases, a vernier precedes a grating for a
short time. In feature inheritance the grating comprises a small number of
elements to which properties of the foregoing vernier are bound. The vernie
r itself remains invisible. In shine-through, a grating comprising a larger
number of elements follows the foregoing vernier. Surprisingly, the vernie
r becomes visible as an entity in its own right and does not bequeath its f
eatures to the grating. Two "objects" are perceived each preserving its pro
perties. Therefore, each of the two illusions represents a different state
of feature binding. Our results suggest that feature binding is based on an
antecedent segmentation process that might be viewed as a binding process
itself.