ID Number

Title

Item Name

Culture

Material

Manufacturing Technique

Date Made

Maker

Place Made

Date Owned

Owner

Acquisition Date

Source

Source

Source

Measurements

Item Classes

Condition

Accession Number

Cultural Context

ceremonial; weaving

History Of Use

Chilkat regalia has had a long history of use on the northern Northwest Coast. Robes, aprons, leggings, headbands, and bags are all made using this technique. They have long been items of high value to be worn by people of high rank on ceremonial occasions. They were given at potlatches, sometimes cut into pieces. This style of weaving is recognized as having originated with the Tsimshian people. When, some time after contact, they stopped doing this work the Tlingit people carried it on. In a ceremony, the Tlingit people returned the right to do Chilkat weaving to the Tsimshian. A related kind of weaving is called Raven's Tail. This is also done on a single-bar loom, but there is no cedar bark in the warp and the patterns are geometric rather than formline.

Description

"The Raven Dances with Frogs" robe. Hand-woven chilkat style child's robe, shaped like a horizontal rectangle on three sides, with the lower edge curving downward to the centre. Long warp fringes of brown and white yarn along the lower edge tapered to be the longest at the centre, with supplementary fringes of white yarn. Main panel is composed of complex formline design in black, white, yellow, and turquoise, outlined in narrow black and white braids, a wide surround of yellow, another band of braids, and an outer surround in black. Double band of braids of brown and white yarn at each side, ending in four bands of wrapped yarn, two black alternating with two yellow. The main panel has a rectangular human-like face at the centre front, above which are two yellow eye forms containing frog faces. Below the rectangular form are two inverted eye forms, beside which are feet with claws. Above these on each side are two more eye forms in yellow. At the midpoint of each side edge is a rectangular profile human-like face looking inwards towards the centre. Throughout the robe the braid outlining is raised from the finely-woven surface, making it three-dimensional. Only the major designs show on the reverse, not the braids.

Specific Techniques

Warp is Z spun of cedar bark and wool on the spinner's thigh. The warps are suspended from a single-bar loom. Weaving is done by twining with the weaver's fingers, while adding raised braids of various colours and thicknesses to the outer surface to outline the forms. The various sections are woven to drawstrings of synthetic sinew (waxed nylon). The side and bottom borders are done after the centre panels, followed by the side braids, which are done with diagonal twining. The signature, made of yarn wrapped around the ends of the braids, completes the work. Any loose ends of yarn on the back are tucked into the weaving with a needle. The cords that fasten it to the loom are then cut. The pattern board used to design the robe is also in the MOA collection--see 3379/1.

Narrative

William White began this weaving, his first Chilkat robe, in the summer of 2002 in the context of an exhibit at MOA entitled, "My Ancestors Are Still Dancing". He and David Oldfield spun the yarn for the robe's warp in the exhibit, following from his earlier experience of weaving in 'living exhibits' at the Museum of Northern B.C. During that summer many weavers visited the museum for the international conference called "Textile Tides". He continued the weaving in Prince Rupert and Alert Bay, completing the weaving in Prince Rupert, where he held a ceremony to take it off the loom at the Tsimshian Longhouse, Dec. 8, 2004. This ceremony was witnessed by representatives of the Tsimshian, Haida, Haisla, and Heiltsuk Nations, as well as other invited guests. White asked his apprentices Sherri Dick and Pearl Innis to cut the cords that fastened the robe to the loom, and asked his cousin Sam Bryant to dance the robe, accompanied by the Tsimshian Dance Group. In addition to presenting the robe to the community, the ceremony served as an occasion to name the robe and to present William White's signature, used for the first time on this robe. In Oct. 2011, the robe was loaned to the artist to be danced at the Wasden Jr. potlatch in Alert Bay. At that time the artist decided to add side fringes (using sheep's wool and artificial sinew). In Sep. 2014, the robe was loaned to the artist so it could be danced at the Hunt family potlatch in Fort Rupert as well as the Isaac family potlatch in Alert Bay. In Nov. 2017 the robe was loaned to the artist so it could be danced at a Cranmer family potlatch in Alert Bay. In May 2018 the robe was loaned to the artist to be displayed at the Isaac family potlatch in Alert Bay; and in Oct. 2019 it was danced at the Gigami (Frank Baker) potlatch in Alert Bay.