A Northwest Coast Chilkat Blanket

finely woven on cedar bark warps with mountain goat wool, with totemic designs, possibly representing a diving killer whale.

Collection of Vernon C. Humble, Anchorage, Alaska

Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1970

Very good original condition, some minor and, in areas, uneven fading. The initials RJ are written in ink on the face of the blanket, as evidenced in the catalogue illustration.
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This blanket is attributed to Robert Jamestown (1906-1993), also known as  Shaakwáani and Yeil dáadzee; he was the housemaster of one of the three Dakl'aweidí (Killerwhale Clan Houses) in Angoon, from the one called Keet Hít (Killerwhale House) and Kéet Gooshi Hít (Killerwhale Fin House).

There is little knowledge of when the Chilkat blanket first appeared worn on the shoulders of the Indians of the Northwest Coast. The Spanish explorer Maurelle, after vising the west coast of Prince of Wales Island in 1779, made a notation of "a woven scarf with fringe . . ."

Emmons referred to these high prized weavings as: "The distinctive ceremonial robes of several native tribes of the North Pacific coast, from Vancouver Island to Prince William Sound . . . an exquisite piece of weaving in wool, as harmonious in coloring as it is original in design, presenting in all of its features the highest development of the textile art throughout this region . . ."

The original Tsimshian/Nass term for the blanket was gushalai't, meaning "dancing blanket." The Tlingit term naxin, also used by the Haida, can be interpreted as "the fringe about the body" (Emmons, p. 329). Although the Tsimshian have been attributed as having first knowledge of these blankets, the tradition later ended among those peoples but was continued by the neighboring Chilkat.

The materials which make up the blanket consist of Native mountain goat wool, (aplocerus montanus), which form the weft and warp covering; sinew of the caribou or whale finely twisted into thread and used to assemble the divisions; the inner bark of the yellow and (later) red-cedar (chamae cypais nootkatensis) and native dyes to attain the various classic color palette.

In the Native division of labor, the man supplied the skin of the goat and provided the loom and the pattern-board. The woman procured the bark, prepared all the materials and wove the blanket. Throughout all the processes she used no tool or implement, only her hands. Weaving was confined to certain families, taught from one female generation to the next. Slaves were never allowed to do the actual work, but only assist their mistresses.

For a further discussion of the Chilkat tradition see George T. Emmons, The Chilkat Blanket, Museum of Natural History, New York, 1907, p. 346: "The purpose of the blanket is that of a ceremonial robe. Its great value in early days placed it beyond the reach of any but the wealthy, so it became a necessary part of a chief's dress upon particular occasions. It is worn by either sex; for among the Tlingit, woman is the equal of man, and can succeed to the highest position . . . During a potlatch, whole blankets may be presented to the most honored guests, but generally they were cut in strips and distributed; and such pieces are esteemed far beyond their intrinsic value . . .

Today no trace of this art is to be found among the Tsimshian, with whom it originated, nor in the country of the more southern Tlingit, who later practiced it. Old blankets are still preserved by them, packed away in cedar chests with the other family treasures, to be brought forth on festive occasions, as is the custom of the other coast people far and wide . . . To them this art is wholly lost."

Also see Cheryl Samuel, The Chilkat Dancing Blanket, Seattle, 1982,  p. 35: "The Chilkat weavings were symbols of wealth. To own them endowed a chief with great prestige; to give them away gave even greater glory, for only the wealthiest of chiefs could afford to dispense with such valuable items . . ."