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Description

Chief's headdress with a carved frontlet and long train with ermine skins. [CAK 10/02/2010]

Display History

Put on permanent display in 'Rank, Status And Prestige On The Northwest Coast Of America' in 1996, with the following caption: 'Chief's Headdress. Haida. Headdresses such as this were worn on cermonial occasions, along with Chilkat blankets, leggings and other items of status. The main feature is a carved and painted wooden plaque, inlaid with pieces of haliotis shell. This represents a family crest figure, here a hawk with human attributes. The headdress was worn so that the plaque sat on the forehead with a crown of sea-lion whiskers above and a train (of ermine skins threaded on balleen strips tied to a length of flour sack) hanging down the back. Collected by Rev. Charles Harrison and purchased from him in 1891.' [JC 5 9 1996]

Longer Description

Chief's headdress with a carved frontlet and long train with ermine skins. The frontlet is carved from maple and depicts a bird, possibly a hawk given its hooked nose. The bird has rectangular ears each inlaid with a piece of haliotis shell piece on the top of its head. The face of the bird is unpainted, but the ears, and eyes are outlined in black paint and the eyebrows are painted black. The mouth is painted red and the teeth are represented by inlays of haliotis shell. The bird's body is painted red and it has double wings on each side. There are two inlays of ovoid-shaped haliotis shell on each double wing, however one of these inlays is now missing. The pitch that held it on is still visible. The bird's feet are painted red and are hand-like. Under the bird and grasped within its feet is a tail(?), painted a different hue of red with black, carved in shallow relief and inlaid with haliotis shell. The border of the frontlet is painted blue and decorated with square-ish pieces of haliotis shell, some of which have perforations. The frontlet is set on the front of a cap woven from red cedar bark that allows the headdress to be worn on the head. The top of the cap is covered in a canvas or cotton fabric. Flicker feathers are attached to the base of the cap on either side of the frontlet. There are also traces of bird down affixed to the cap. Sea lion whiskers are attached further up the cap around its entire circumference. There is a frame outside the cap made from baleen lashed together with sinew. Across the top of this frame, at the back of the headdress are a row of ermine skins. From the bottom of the frame hangs a long train made of canvas or cotton textile. Ermine skins are attached in rows to the train where strips of baleen have been added to provide support. Leather straps are present in the cap to hold the headdress in place. [CAK 10/02/2010]

Research Notes

Description by Dr Erna Gunther, Washington State Museum, USA: 'Chief's headdress: the frontlet plaque is carved of yellow cedar or maple and represents the face of a hawk with wings at the sides and a tail held between human hands. The face is natural wood colour with red nostrils and mouth. The eyes, teeth and ears are inlaid with abalone (haliotis) shell. The body, hands and wings are painted red, the wings inalid with abalone (1 piece missing). Oblong pieces of abalone form a frame around the face. The crown or inside cap is a piece of brown sacking on a frame of baleen. A small cluster of flicker feathers is at each side of the carved plaque. The crown is set with sea lion whiskers. A trailer of flour sacking is covered with ermine skins, 7 or 8 to a row, 4 rows. The sacking is spread with strips of baleen. Dimensions. Frontlet plaque: height at center = 16.7 cm; width = 16.0 cm. Sea lion whiskers: length = c. 34.5 cm. Trailer: length = 1'6 cm [? 1.6 m]; width = 36 cm.' A piece of paper with this text was removed from accessions book. [JC 16 8 1996]

Although described as a medicine man's headdress, these objects are more often associated with chiefs. [CAK 17/08/2009]

The local names for the headdress come from Robin Wright's book, Northern Haida Master Carver's, Published by the University of Washington Press in 2001. They can be found on page 125. [CAK 11/02/2010]

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum's collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge” :
This headdress was viewed alongside two other chief's headdresses on Friday Sept 11, 2009. Seeing the three headdresses together evoked a deep emotional response from all Haidas present. There was immense sadness. PRM staff were not prepared for this response. In the group who encountered the headdresses first, Vern and Diane said prayers and everyone sang songs. PRM staff were better able to prepare the afternoon group for what they were about to see. There were songs sung again, including the Chief's song, in the afternoon. After people had sang their respect for the chiefs who once wore these headdresses, Haidas began to describe them. It was believed that these headdresses would have belonged to important chiefs because of the prestigious materials used to make them.
This headdress was clearly identified as a Chief's headdress and would not be worn by a shaman.
Christian White commented on some of the materials within the headdress. In particular, he noted the haliotis shells on the frontlet were traded on strings from California. They would be given as gifts at potlatches. Thus, the holes in these shell pieces indicate the shell was received during a potlatch and are marks of distinction, rather than ‘flaws'. Maple used to carve the frontlet would have come from the Skeena River Valley on the mainland of British Columbia, or from Alaska.
Gaahlaay, Lonnie Young, observed that some of the sea lion whiskers have had extensions added on to them to make them taller.
The number of ermine skins added to the headdress would be the prerogative of the chief. Delegates noted that ermine were once on the verge of extinction of Haida Gwaii, but their numbers are again rising.
The flicker feathers decorating the headdress are valuable because the birds are rare, though found on Haida Gwaii and also because their orange quills are a copper colour (coppers being objects of extreme prestige on Haida Gwaii).
The frame of the headdress is made from baleen lashed with sinew. Baleen can be obtained from humpback, fin or blue whales, all of which live in the waters surrounding Haida Gwaii. [CAK 10/02/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry (for 1891.49.11 and .12): 'From Rev. Ch. Harrison, 80 Halton Rd., Canonbury Square. N. Collection of Haida objects collected by him.... - [One of] 2 Chief's or medicine men's headdresses, one of which belonged to Edenshaw. £45. [Purchase price includes 1891.49.1-110]

Pitt Rivers Museum label - N. AMERICA, CANADA, N.W. COAST HAIDA Headdress Purch. C. Harrison, 1891. [MJD 18/08/2009]

Written on object - MEDICINE MAN'S CEREMONIAL HEAD DRESS; THE WALRUS BRISTLES FORM A RECEPTACLE FOR BIRDS' DOWN. HAIDA. C. HARRISON COLLN (M.S. No 13) PURCHASED 1891. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Related Documents File - The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]

Item History

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