Chilkat Robe

Blanket

Chilkat blanket or ceremonial robe finger woven with warp made from wool-wrapped cedar bark fibers and weft made from wool. Pentagonal shape with broad black and yellow bands enclosing a central design which may represent a "Diving Whale." Designs are in bold yellow, black, white, and teal colors. The body of the animal is represented by the face, or the spirit, in the center of the weaving. The lateral panels have designs of animals, possibly ravens, facing toward the center. Fringed at the bottom in the natural wool color with two rows of twined yellow wool stitches to keep the fringe in place.