Tlingit Double Headed Raven Button Blanket

Vintage Tlingit double headed raven button blanket. 55" x 88". 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 button blanket likely dates to the first half of the 20th century and appears to have been used and worn. Other than the overall wear to the piece, the patch of lighter blue cloth where the robe would rest on the neck and the way that the border and buttons stop several inches from the bottom of the blanket point to this piece being meant for use. The Double-Headed Raven design also indicates a likely Tlingit origin, as this motif was appropriated by several Tlingit clans who had interacted with Imperial Russian forces in the early contact period. This regalia likely dates to between the 1930s and 1950s.