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Blanket (Fragment)E177710-0

From card: "Described in Amer. Ind. Costumes in the U.S. National Museum by H.W. Krieger. S.I. Annual Report for 1928, p. 640: "The warp of this specimen is a stiff heavy cord of some fibre not ascertained. The weft is soft pelage of the mountain goat. The colors are dark green, brownish red, black, and white. The patterns are simple, consisting of w shape, comblike, and sets of three horizontal bars, divided by narrow stripes of herringbone pattern. The border is of wedges of black and green on white background. This interesting relic is probably [?] from the Lewis Collection from the Columbia (Lewis and Clark Expedition), which is said to have been acquired by Catlin." Illustrated plate 9 a and b, same publ. Note: "on old museum label this specimen is identified as "ancient blanket of the Nez Perce Indians (Shahaptian stock) [sic]." However, Spinden, in the "Nez Perce Indians" Memoirs AAA. Vol.II Pt.III. states (p.190) "It seems fairly certain that these people never wove blankets."From 19th or early 20th century exhibit label with card: "177,710A. Ancient blanket of the Salish Indians .... The warp is of two-ply twine of Indian hemp. The weft is of dog hair. The warp is not set on a loom, but is suspended from a pole, and the weft is inserted by twine weaving in precisely the same manner as the basketry of the Tlingit Indians and tribes farther south, only the blanket is woven from the top downward."Fragment of Classic Salish blanket, illus. Fig. 29, p. 46, in Salish Weaving by Paula Gustafson, University of Washington Press, 1980. It is described on p. 125, cat. entry 84: "Colour: Dark green, brownish-red, black and white, all faded. Weave: Twine." It is also described on p. 47-8 of Gustafson as: "... both the warp and weft are of vegetable fibre, probably Indian hemp. The blanket appears to have been designed with at least fourteen horizontal bars, six or more of which are broken by dark vertical lines. It is bordered on at least two sides by an arrowhead pattern, and the one remaining edge carries two horizontal panels, one repeating the arrowhead design of the borders but with narrow vertical red and blue stripes, and the lower edge evidencing a red and black zigzag pattern. The original fibre colour has aged to a soft honey yellow and the dyed areas have faded slightly, giving a mellow appearance to the finely woven fragment."There has been speculation (see reference above) that some of the Northwest Coast artifacts in the Catlin collection came originally either from the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804-1806 or from Clark's Indian Museum in St. Louis (1816-1838). Catlin did know Clark, however there is no proof or documentation that Lewis and Clark Expedition artifacts or Clark artifacts are in the Catlin collections. See "William Clark's Indian Museum in St. Louis 1816-1838" by John C. Ewers, in "A Cabinet of Curiosities", ed. Walter Whitehill, University of Virginia Press, 1967.Reference: Solazzo, C., S. Heald, M.W. Ballard, D.A. Ashford, P.T. DePriest, R.J. Koestler, and M. Collins. 2011. Proteomics and Coast Salish blankets: A tale of shaggy dogs? Antiquity 85: 1418-1432. http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/085/ant0851418.htm . Identified there as a Classic (1778 - 1850) blanket - mixture of Mountain goat hair and Salish wool or woolly dog hair in both warp and weft.See p. 296 in Catlin, George. 1848. Catlin's notes of eight years' travels and residence in Europe with his North American Indian collection: with anecdotes and incidents of the travels and adventures of three different parties of American Indians whom he introduced to the courts of England, France, and Belgium, Vol. 1. New-York: Burgess, Stringer & Co. There Catlin is describing his "Indian Gallery" artifacts, and notes that they include "Indian Cloths, Robes &c, manufactured by the Indians from the mountain sheep's wool, and from wild [sic] dogs' hair, beautifully spun, coloured, and woven." See p. 386 in "The George Catlin Indian Gallery in the U.S. National Museum (Smithsonian Institution) with Memoir and Statistics" by Thomas [Corwin] Donaldson, in Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for 1885, part 5, Government Printing Office, 1886, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31077461 . It is noted there: "After Mr. Catlin's return to London from Paris in 1848, he added to his gallery a series of full-length costumed figures [mannequins]." See also p. 388 of the same publication https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/31077463 . There it is noted that one of these mannequins, Catlin display mannequin # 625, depicted "A Nay-as Woman, wearing ... a splendid robe, made of the wool of the mountain sheep and wild [sic] dog's hair ... ."Illus. Fig. 40, p. 99 (detail), in Tepper, Leslie Heymann, Janice George, and Willard Joseph. 2017. Salish Blankets: robes of protection and transformation, symbols of wealth.

Culture
Salish
Made in
Washington, USA ? or Oregon, USA ?
Holding Institution
National Museum of Natural History
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Dentalium Head OrnamentE30097-0

FROM CARD: "HEAD-DRESS, (BATL-KUPTL-KIAR-KOOB). FOURTEEN STRINGS OF SHELL, DENTALIUM INDIANORUM, ROVE THROUGH STRIPS OF LEATHER ALTERNATELY 2 AND 3 INS. LONG. BETWEEN THE ENDS, WHICH ARE JOINED TOGETHER, IS A BAND OF BEADS OF GOLDEN AND PEARLY LUSTER. WITH ENDS FASTENED ON OPPOSITE SIDES IS PENDANT A CHIN-STRAP OF DENTALIUM, RED, BLUE, AND GOLDEN BEADS. THE HEAD-DRESS IS WORN, WITH THE BEADS ON LEFT SIDE, IN THE CEREMONIAL DANCES OF THE MAKAH INDIANS, CAPE FLATTERY. CIRCUMFERENCE, 2 FT. WIDTH, 3 INS. STRAP, 18 INS. LONG. WASHINGTON TERRITORY, 1878 [sic]. 30,097. COLLECTED BY JAMES G. SWAN."A letter in the accession file dated August 4, 1876, from collector James G. Swan of Port Townsend, Washington talks about the origin of E30097 and E30098: "[These objects] ... were made expressly for me in my office by a Makah ... [woman]. I procured the material and she made them under my supervision."

Culture
Makah
Made in
Washington, USA
Holding Institution
National Museum of Natural History
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Cedar Bark CapeE55800A-0

FROM CARD: "MADE OF NARROW BUNDLES OF CEDARBARK, HUNG OVER A THICK CORD AT THE TOP, AND BOUND TOGETHER WITH STRIPS OF CLOTH TWISTED AROUND EACH BUNDLE ALL THE WAY AROUND THE CAPE WHICH IS MADE AS A CONTINUOUS STRIP. THESE STRIPS OF BINDING CONTINUE DOWN THE ENTIRE LENGTH OF THE CAPE, EVERY HALF INCH. IT WAS MADE TO PUT OVER THE HEAD AND RESTS ON THE SHOULDERS. THIS SPECIMEN WAS INCLUDED IN THIS ACCESSION BECAUSE A TAG OF THIS COS. WAS ON IT WITHOUT ANY OTHER NUMBER. R. ELDER, JR." Formerly on exhibit in NHB Hall 9, Case 29. Exhibit label identified it as a rain cape.Cape woven of inner bark of the cedar and, near the bottom, strips of cotton cloth. A row of cotton cloth is also woven into the cedar near the neck. The neck is bound with a leather strip, wound around it.There is some question whether this is actually part of accession 12296. It was formerly on exhibit in NMNH Exhibit Hall 9, case 29, and the exhibit book noted about it (presumably based on a tag with the artifact?) that it was "Swan # 25", which would imply it was collected/donated by James G. Swan. However, no tag with that information was located when it was removed from exhibit in 2004. E72662 from Accession No. 12690 is a cape from Swan that was not located during the inventory, and its field number was 25, so it is possible that the cape currently called E55800A is really E72662.

Culture
Makah
Made in
Washington, USA
Holding Institution
National Museum of Natural History
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Salmon Spear-Head, DoubleE72839-0
Bones Used In Game (2)E328605-0
BailerZ 35091

Canoe bailer made from alder wood, which is rectangular with angled sides meeting to form a curved base. The bailer appears to be unused.; Good

Culture
Nuu-chah-nulth ? or Makah ?
Material
wood
Made in
Washington, USA and British Columbia, Canada ?
Holding Institution
MAA: University of Cambridge
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DishE 1905.216

Large open dish in the shape of a beaver with projecting head and tail, and stands on four sturdy legs. The eyes are made from blue glass beads, the nostrils from smaller white beads, and the mouth has a red tongue. The body of the beaver is painted dark brownish red, and the tail has been textured with dents.; Good

Culture
Coast Salish ? or Makah ?
Material
wood
Made in
British Columbia, Canada ? or Washington, USA ?
Holding Institution
MAA: University of Cambridge
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Flask1930.1132

A glass flask covered in coloured (brown, yellow, orange, and red) basketry. The flask has a close fitting woven cap and the decoration is geometric bands in false embroidery.; Good

Culture
Tlingit
Material
glass, root, spruce wood and grass
Made in
Washington, USA
Holding Institution
MAA: University of Cambridge
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Basket1993.70

Rectangular basket with lid and strap. The decoration on the basket is made from dyed straw, and has the initials C.H.P on one side. The strap is red and green, made from wool, and has leather strips attaching it to the basket. European influenced.; Good

Culture
Coast Salish ? or Makah ?
Material
bark
Made in
Washington, USA
Holding Institution
MAA: University of Cambridge
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Basket1924.674

Small carrying basket with designs in purple, orange, yellow and black. Basket has a plaited handle made from yellow and purple grass.; Good

Culture
Makah
Material
bark, cedar wood and grass
Made in
Washington, USA
Holding Institution
MAA: University of Cambridge
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