1884.91.18

Collection type

Object

Description

Conical-convex, hollow-topped hat made of spruce root, painted with blue and red crest designs, with inner hat to fit head. [MJD 03/11/2011]

Long description

Conical-convex, hollow-topped hat made of spruce root, painted with blue and red crest designs, with inner hat to fit head. The inner weaving has dark and light horizontal bands. The inner hat is made of cedar bark. The brim of the inner hat is edged with dark brown wool. There is a twisted cord neck strap. The crown of the hat is closely woven. The brim of the hat is twined woven in a decorative zigzag style. [MJD 03/11/2011]

Geographical reference

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast Vancouver Island

Cultural groups

Nuu-chah-nulth

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Frederick Dally

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date / Period

Date made: Possibly before 1870

Date collected

1862 - 1870

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Spruce Root Plant, Material Cedar Bark Wood Plant, Material Pigment, Material Wool Textile Animal, Process Painted, Process Woven, Process Twined Woven, Process Basketry

Dimensions

Diameter 250 mm brim, Height 200 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.91.18 PR no.: 204/ 12099

Research and responses

Information from Andrea Laforet, Canadian Museum of Civilization, July 1991: the shape and twining style are from the northern coast, the style of painted decoration from further south. Unusual hat.

Teri Rofkar (Tlingit Tribe) and Luba Dovgan-Nurse examined this object during a research visit in November 2011. They made the following comments: This hat has a whole basket inside it, not just a band to fit the head. The inner basket is newer than the outer hat, maybe sewn on just before they sold it. The object is spruce root on the outside, cedar on the inside. The hat has a slug-trail pattern. [El.B 22/11/2011]

Associated publications

Illustrated in black and white as figures 48 a, b on page 48 of Basketmakers Meaning and Form in Native American Baskets, edited by Linda Mowat, Howard Morphy and Penny Dransart (Oxford: Pitt Rivers Museum, University if Oxford, Mongraph 5, 1992). Caption reads: ‘Canada, Northwest Coast. Rare type of hat with warp and weft of spruce root, painted with totemic designs in black, red and blue. The shape and twining style are from the northern coast, the style of painted decoration from further south. Obtained by Dr. Frederick Dally, probably in the 1860s. Pitt Rivers Collection.1884.91.18’ [MJD 18/01/2013]

Search terms: Clothing Headgear, Ritual and Ceremonial, Mask, Basketry, Hat, Ceremonial Object