Skip to main content
Collections Menu
SAM'S collection
Photo: Susan Cole
gʷəsdulic’a (robe)
Photo: Susan Cole

gʷəsdulic’a (robe)

Dateearly 20th century
Label TextCreamy white wool robes, often mixed with dog hair and vegetal fibers, were worn on ceremonial occasions, such as noble marriages, and also given as gifts to orators and special potlatch guests. The genius of combining a variety of natural materials for added strength and social prestige (wooly dogs were high status), speaks to the intuitive intelligence and quiet labor of nimble fingers that practiced their art forms to instill pride and survivance for their time and into the future.
Object number2006.19
Photo CreditPhoto: Susan Cole
Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, American Art: The Stories We Carry, Oct. 20, 2022 - ongoing.
Credit LineGift of John and Grace Putnam
Dimensions75 1/2 x 54 1/2 in. (191.77 x 138.43 cm)
MediumMountain goat wool, milkweed fiber, dyes
NaXine (Chilkat robe)
Native American
ca. 1860
Object number: 91.1.79
Photo: Paul Macapia
Native American
ca.1880
Object number: 83.229
Photo: Susan Cole
Susan Pavel (sa'hLa mitSa)
2007
Object number: 2007.38
Naaxein
Native American
ca.1880
Object number: 68.194
Naaxein, (Chikat robe)
Native American
late 19th century
Object number: 95.89
Cheryl Samuel
ca.2000
Object number: 2024.19.178
Cheryl Samuel
ca.2000
Object number: 2024.19.181
Chris Beard (American, born 1940)
2001-2002
Object number: 2024.19.187
Woven hat (SiR)
Coast Salish
ca. 1880
Object number: 96.98