Thunderbird and Sisiyutł Robe

Thunderbird and Sisiyutł Robe

2016

Kwakwaka’wakw Mumtagila-Thothwitis, born 1956

Maxine Matilpi’s practice of making button robes follows a nearly two-hundred-year-old tradition of taking trade materials and transforming them into garments of status and honor. The crests of the Thunderbird and two-headed serpent, called Sisiyutł, refer to events in family history. The shape of the robe symbolizes the longhouse, the neckpiece represents the smoke hole, and the border designs refer to aspects of the earth and the seasons.

Melton wool, wool stoud, cotton cloth, shell buttons

58 x 69 in. (147.3 x 175.3 cm)

Ancient and Native American Art Acquisition Fund and General Acquisition Fund

2016.11

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

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