Kaross (skin cloak)

prior to 1892

Skins of small hydraxes are sewn in stripes to create the main body of this cloak. Spots interupt this sequence at the top where a civet cat's arms stretch out, as if to announce the presence of a chieftain. A very rare intact example of a 19th-century cloak, it was transported from Johannesberg to Idaho by an Irish miner named Paul Corcoran in 1892.

Skin and fur

78 x 54 in. (198.12 x 137.16 cm)

Gift of the family of Paul Corcoran

97.53

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Order and Border, February 26, 2010 - August 28, 2011

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, The Untold Story, November 14, 2003 - November 14, 2004

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