Náakw gwéil

ca. 1880

Tlingit

Octopus bags offer a puzzle of influences. Vertical bags made of hide are recorded from the 17th century, but how and why the tentacles or fingers evolved is not known. This example was collected in Sitka, Alaska in 1869 and is in remarkably fine condition. While such bags originated as functional pouches, they now add to the impressive attire for ceremonial appearances. Slung over a shoulder, such bags are beaded only on one side to feature abstracted foliate patterns that are always symmetrically aligned.

Commercial plain weave wool cloth, imported beads, yarn, natural and synthetic dyes

18 1/2 x 10 in. (46.99 x 25.4 cm)

Gift of John H. Hauberg

91.1.122

Photo: Elizabeth Mann

Not currently on view

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Bead Quiz, July 1, 2008 - July 1, 2009.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Asian Art Museum, Mood Indigo: Textiles from Around the World, Apr. 9 - Oct. 9, 2016.

Published ReferencesSmetzer, Megan A. Painful Beauty: Tlingit Women, Beadwork, and the Art of Reselience. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021; p. 77, reproduced fig. 2.9.

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