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Description

Blanket of black wool with red wool border and three rows of small mother of pearl buttons on three sides. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Display History

Put on permanent display in 'Rank, Status And Prestige On The Northwest Coast Of America' in 1996, with the following caption: 'Button Blanket. Haida. Queen Charlotte Islands. Hudson Bay Company trade blanket, decorated locally by the wife of a chief with a red felt border and some 900 pearl buttons. Such blankets were highly prized and served as a medium of currency. This example was collected by Rev. Charles Harrison and purchased from him in 1908.' [JC 5 9 1996]

Publications History

Referred to on page 8 of 'Haida Art in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and the Rev. Charles Harrison', by June Bedford, in European Review of Native American Studies, Vol. XII, no. 2 (1998), pp. 1-10. Bedford notes: 'there is...a superb button blanket which belonged to a Haida chieftainess of the third rank'. [JC 16 4 1999]

Longer Description

Blanket of black wool with red wool border and three rows of small mother of pearl buttons on three sides. The bottom hem is left plain, with no red border and no rows of buttons. The bottom hem is slightly wider than the rest of the blanket, likely as a result of wear. There are white and blue button holes for fastening at the top. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry: Mar REV. C. HARRISON, Masset, Queen Charlotte Island, B.C. - Old Hudson's Bay Co. trade blanket formerly the property of a Haida chieftainess of the third rank ("Dick the Devil"'s wife). The blanket was bound with red cloth & decorated with 850-900 pearl buttons & highly prized. It was purchased by Mr [sic] Harrison from the owner for $25. These are now no longer worn. ... Pd by cheque £2-5-0

Old exhibit label reads: 'QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. Old Hudson's Bay Company trade blanket formerly the property of a Haida chieftainess of the third rank (Dick of the Devil's wife). The red border and decoration of 850-900 pearl buttons were added by her. These blankets, now no longer worn, were highly prized and served as a currency medium and sign of wealth. Purch. 1908, (Rev. R. C. Harrison).'

No additional information on catalogue cards. [JC 5 9 1996]

Old Pitt Rivers Museum label - Put on permanent display in 'Rank, Status And Prestige On The Northwest Coast Of America' in 1996, with the following caption: 'Button Blanket. Haida. Queen Charlotte Islands. Hudson Bay Company trade blanket, decorated locally by the wife of a chief with a red felt border and some 900 pearl buttons. Such blankets were highly prized and served as a medium of currency. This example was collected by Rev. Charles Harrison and purchased from him in 1908.' [JC 5 9 1996]

Related Documents File - Old Pitt Rivers Museum Display label - 'QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS. Old Hudson's Bay Company trade blanket formerly the property of a Haida chieftainess of the third rank (Dick the Devil's wife). The red border and decoration of 850 - 900 pearl buttons were added by her. These blankets, now no longer worn, were very highly prized and served as a currency medium and sign of wealth. Purch. 1908. (Rev. R. C. Harrison).' [MOB 25/10/2001]

Related Documents File - For a discussion of the significance of the rows of buttons on this blanket, see Tape 7, time 31:50, and for further discussion of the blanket see Tape 6, time 32:39, in the Haida Project 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]

Research Notes

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 button blanket was viewed alongside other items of personal adornment on Friday Sept 11, 2009. Delegates were impressed with the quantity of buttons on this blanket. They observed that the lack of central crest, and abundant number of small blankets, were signs that the wearer was of extremely high status: the blanket has an understated quality that delegates responded positively to. Candace Weir noted that the buttons are only stitched through two holes, rather than three (where three holes were present). She said that with her own blanket, she sewed the buttons using all the holes and yet they are still falling off. She was amazed that none of the buttons on this blanket are missing. She further commented that, from the reverse, the lines of the stitching were remarkably straight, and that the red stitching in the corners is particularly fine. When making blankets today, Candace uses small buttons as spacers to achieve an equal distance between larger buttons. She was interested that the small buttons on this historic blanket were not all the same. One delegate observed that the small buttons were sewn on using a single thread; if the thread were to break, all the buttons would be lost. It is more common today to sew buttons on individually to prevent such a loss.
Because the small buttons are all the same size, delegates imagined that it would have taken a very long time to accumulate them
Some delegates said it is not uncommon to have a blanket without a crest, although one delegate did think this was an unusual feature. When asked why the blanket was wider at the bottom, Lucille Bell suspected that the bottom may have gotten wet at one point, and stretched as a result.
Nadine Wilson and Nika Collison discussed how the blanket would have been worn more like a cloak, with the fastener close to the neck [unlike contemporary blankets were the fasteners are below the collar bone].
Diane Brown commented that each of the three rows of buttons represents a chief within the wearer's family. For example, the owner of this blanket may have had a brother and uncle who were chiefs, and then the owner was a chief, hence three rows of buttons. According to Diane, the statement these three rows of buttons make as to the wearer's status render a crest design unnecessary. Diane was particularly intrigued by the label on the blanket that said the blanket belonged to a Haida chieftainess. She noted that it is rare to have a female chief.
Another interpretation of the blanket was that the three lines of buttons indicated a third wife. One delegate explained that chiefs were only allowed four wives, and also that men were obligated to marry the wife of a deceased relative.
Christian White commented that originally, Haidas traded seal skins for iron, and then later for decorative items such as buttons. He said that the addition of appliqued designs in the centre was a more recent addition to blankets. Today, button blankets are given to mark graduations.
Discussion of this blanket by Diane Brown, Nika Collison and Nadine Wilson during the handling session can also be viewed on Tape 7, beginning at time 31:50 (approx.). Additional discussion occurs on Tape 6, time 32:39, which can be found in the Haida Project Related Documents File. [CAK 12/05/2010]

It is interesting that the blanket has no crest design in the centre, a common feature on most contemporary blankets. There would likely have been a cloth strip that ran between the button holes at the top of the blanket to fasten the blanket across the wearer's chest. [CAK 17/08/2009]

Item History

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