Chilkat Blankets: Artistic Masterpieces:

Chilkat Blankets: Artistic Masterpieces location: El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe 555 Camino de la Familia Santa Fe, NM 87501

Chilkat Blankets: Artistic Masterpieces 2015 exhibit dates: August 17-20

Chilkat Blankets: Artistic Masterpieces

Called "Dancing Blankets" because important persons wore them ceremonially, Chilkat weavings are the epitome of Native Indian Art. These highly prized textiles, an extraordinary achievement for any culture or period, are universally recognized as masterpieces of American Indian Art.

Chilkat weaving is one of the most complex techniques in the world. Made by the Tsimshian, Tlingit, Haida and Chilkat people of the Northwest coast area (running from Vancouver Island to Yakutat, Alaska) and woven on a vertical loom, these textiles take about a year to spin and weave. Fabricated from mountain goat wool and cedar bark, they are naturally dyed from plants, urine and colored cloth that has been boiled. The designs are a highly stylized representational form that features animals, birds, fish, and whales primarily in black, yellow and blue colors with long fringes along the bottom. They were sometimes used as clothing, but were primarily used as spectacular blankets worn by very high ranking people. Rare and sought after, they now exist mainly in museums and private collections.

Chilkat weavings are highly regarded for their unique beauty, quality and rarity, but they are seldom displayed.
A Chilkat weaving generates excitement amongst those privileged to discover even a single piece. During The Antique American Indian Art Show, visitors will have a unique opportunity to see over a dozen pieces in one exhibition—vintage and contemporary.

This exhibition created by The Santa Fe Shows / M2 Productions will be on display at El Museo Cultural in The Railyard District of Santa Fe. Multiple collectors and dealers of Antique Indian art have generously lent their prized Chilkats for this show, possibly the largest exhibition of Chilkat weavings ever gathered at one time.

CHILKAT BLANKETS: Artistic Masterpieces

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