A TLINGIT CEREMONIAL DANCING BLANKET,

CHILKAT

Details

A TLINGIT CEREMONIAL DANCING BLANKET,
Chilkat
Woven in black, ivory, yellow, blue, and green wool and cedar bark fiber in a crest pattern based on a killer whale motif, the head depicted below, the face at center represents the torso, the flukes of the tail are depicted along the upper border, the two rounded side wing designs represent two halves of the dorsal fin, the side panels representing the sides and back of the whale, simultaneously representing an eagle sitting, the wing in front of the body towards the center field
67in. (170.2cm.) long

Provenance

This blanket was originally collected by A.D. Ferrier, a geologist in 1899 while visiting Stika, Alaska.

Literature

For a discussion of this crest pattern see Emmons, 1907, pg. 383, fig. 572 (a).

Lot Essay

This blanket is accompanied by a copy of Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume III, Part IV, by George T. Emmons and a black and white photograph of a dance ceremony dated 1899 by Merrill.

More from American Indian Art

View All