ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Maker

Place Made

Place Collected

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Source

Measurements

Item Classes

Condition

Accession Number

Iconographic Meaning

Design is of swallows, symbolic of swiftness.

Cultural Context

wall hanging

Specific Techniques

Traditional blankets were made from mountain goat hair, supplemented with dog hair, Indian hemp and stinging nettle fibres. Now domestic sheep wool is used. The wool is washed, rinsed, dried and carded, then each fleece is separately hand spun. The spindle whorls are made by men. The blankets are woven on an upright 2 bar loom without a shuttle, only the fingers are used. The wool is now dyed with both chemical dyes and natural dyes (from native plants). The patterns are created by using discontinuous wefts of various colours, creating lines, bands, or blocks of colour. Geometric patterns are common, such as triangles and diamonds.

Description

Rectangular wall hanging in plain weave with design in discontinuous weft. The weft is lightly spun and the warp is machine spun. The design consists of four horizontal abstract swallows with outstretched wings represented by chevron shapes with yellow tops and dark brown bottoms, and the swallow design is on an off-white ground. The wall hanging has an interlooped finish on one of the longer sides with overhand loops on the opposite side. Blue 'Salish Weaving' tag sewn to back.

History Of Use

Salish weaving is a very old tradition. Blankets of mountain goat wool were valuable possessions, and were important wealth items. They were presented as gifts at ceremonial occasions, such as weddings, naming ceremonies, and memorials. They were also used to compensate shamans and other specialists for services. Wealthy families wrapped their dead in the blankets, as well. Women who wove the blankets generally had a spirit helper associated with weaving skills and would undergo ritual purification before weaving. After contact, mass produced blankets flooded onto the Northwest Coast and by the early 20th century production of traditional blankets had virtually ceased. In the 1960's, there was a revival of blanket weaving at Sardis, and more recently at Musqueam. The weavers studied old blankets in museums, and were also aided by elders. In 1971, the Salish Weavers Guild was formed.