Northwest Coast Button Blanket

Northwest Coast button blanket/crest robe. 66.75" L x 50.375" W Button blankets are worn in ceremony and for other formal occasions by Northwest Coast Indigenous peoples, from the Coast Salish peoples in Washington State to the Tlingit people in Southeastern Alaska. The button blanket, which is worn as a robe around the shoulders, was a 19th century innovation using woolen trade blankets and may have even been inspired by American Naval uniforms. Button blankets are constructed from woolen trade blankets through an applique technique that overlays a cutout crest image (often red cloth), over a dark blue or black ground cloth, which is in turn framed on three sides (left, right, and top) with trade cloth that is the same color as the applique crest image. The image and the borders are outlined with mother of pearl or abalone buttons, giving the regalia its name. This blanket is being offered as “Northwest Coast style” because it does depart significantly in some respects from customary Northwest Coast Indigenous button blankets. The overall construction of the blanket is correct and aligns with how Northwest Coast button blankets are made, but the two designs (that appear to show some sort of raptor) in the center of the blanket do not align with known Northwest Coast style. It’s possible that this blanket is from a smaller, peripheral group adjacent to the Northwest Coast cultural region, but to align with the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, it is being offered as in the style of the Northwest Coast tribes.