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Chilkat blanket


Dancing blanket
Native American, Tlingit
1900–14
Object Place: Tlingit Chilkat, Northwest Indian, Native American, Northwest Coast

Medium/Technique Wool and cedar bark; twined
Dimensions Overall (Including Fringe): 114.3 x 165.1 cm (45 x 65 in.)
Credit Line Museum purchase with funds donated anonymously
Accession Number2008.650
NOT ON VIEW
ClassificationsTextiles

DescriptionBlack, white, yellow and blue Chilkat dancing blanket, worn by the Tlingit Chilkat . for various ceremonies, including the potlatch. The motif on this particular blanket is known as the "diving whale" design and is made up of abstract, geometric animals, eyes and family crests.


ProvenanceProbably between 1905 and 1914, purchased in Vancouver, British Columbia by Joseph Clark Thoms (b. 1839 - d. 1919), Cincinnati; by descent to his granddaughter, Isabelle Resor (Mrs. Murat H.) Davidson (b. 1909 - d. 2004), Cincinnati and Barnstable, MA [see note]; 2004, by descent to her heirs; 2008, sold by the heirs of Mrs. Davidson, through Marcy Burns (dealer), New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 17, 2008)

NOTE:
Until 1981, this was on long-term loan from Mrs. Davidson to the Cincinnati Museum of Natural History (loan no. TT258).