Dance Apron And Leggings Set: Apron

Object Details

Donor Name

Charles H. Popenoe

FROM CARD: "WOVEN FROM GOAT FLEECE WITH PAINTED (DYED) DESIGNS IN BLACK, YELLOW AND GREEN. TWO ROWS OF PUFFIN BEAK BEADS AT ENDS OF BUCKSKIN FRINGE BORDER. RARE AND VALUABLE SPECIMEN. 4/18/1967: LOANED TO VANCOUVER ART GALL., 12/13/1967 RETURNED BY VANCOUVER. LOAN CROSSROADS SEP 22 1988, LOAN RETURNED JAN 21, 1993. ILLUS.: CROSSROADS OF CONTINENTS CATALOGUE; FIG. 290, P. 219." FROM CROSSROADS CATALOGUE: "A WRAPAROUND APRON AND DECORATED LEGGINGS WERE OFTEN WORN BY THE NOBILITY ALONG WITH A CHILKAT BLANKET ON CEREMONIAL OCCASIONS. THE WOVEN PIECES OF THIS SET (OF DANCE APRON AND LEGGINGS) WERE ORIGINALLY PART OF A SINGLE BLANKET DEPICTING A DIVING KILLER WHALE, WHICH WAS PROBABLY CUT UP AND DISTRIBUTED TO GUESTS DURING A GREAT MEMORIAL POTLATCH. THE WOVEN PIECES HAVE BEEN EXTENDED WITH TRADE BLANKET MATERIAL AND BORDERED WITH SKIN FRINGES. PUFFIN BEAKS ATTACHED TO THE FRINGES RATTLED TOGETHER WITH THE MOVEMENTS OF THE DANCER."" Leggings illus. Fig. G, after p. 48 in The Chilkat Dancing Blanket, by Cheryl Samuel, University of Oklahoma Press, 1982.

Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=694 , retrieved 11-29-2011: Apron This dance apron was cut from a full-sized robe that was woven out of dyed mountain goat wool and cedar bark. Puffin beaks and leather fringes were added for sound and motion during dance performances. The Chilkat-style design represents a diving Killer Whale, according to Tlingit advisers. The head, including eyes, nostrils, and mouth, forms the two lowest tiers of the design. The central spirit face is the whale's body, and its flukes and dorsal fin are represented by the double eyes and other elements at the top of the weaving.

This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027. E341202-0 Apron and E341202-1 Leggings are both on loan.

Record Last Modified

17 Mar 2023

Specimen Count

1

Culture

Tlingit, Chilkat

Accession Date

2 Jul 1928

Accession Number

102152

USNM Number

E341202-0

Object Type

Apron

Length - Object

74 cm

Width - Object

109 cm

Place

Southeast, Alaska, United States, North America

See more items in

Anthropology

NMNH - Anthropology Dept.

Topic

Ethnology

Record ID

nmnhanthropology_8401478

Metadata Usage (text)

CC0

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/304f1d3d0-e9d5-459a-b7ef-c9e7811abf3c