Button Blanket
- Describe the different shapes that you see on this object.
- What do you notice about the colors?
- How would this blanket move and change if someone were wearing it?
What is it?
This button blanket was made by an American Indian artist from the Northwest Coast. Button Blankets were typically used as ceremonial robes and were often given as gifts at ceremonial potlatches for use as ceremonial robes. They are worn over the back. Before contact with Europeans, blankets were made from shredded cedar bark, dog fur or wool. After the introduction of trade blankets to the Kwakwaka’wakw by the Hudson Bay Company, artists began designing the cloth with crest designs done in red flannel appliqué, and abalone shell beads and buttons. This artist used plastic buttons. Today, button blankets are a highly regarded art form.
What inspired it?
“Button blankets are important. When you wear your blanket people immediately know who you are and what house you come from.”—button blanket seamstress Fanny Smith.
The designs on the blankets are narrative art that signal the owners’ tribe identity, status, and hereditary rights and privileges. Ravens, bears, and whales are just a few examples of animals that are incorporated in the design of the blankets. Button Blankets are often used as ceremonial clothing, and are still used in ceremonies today; imagine the stunning visual effect of flickering firelight reflecting off the iridescent buttons of robed dancers.
The increased presence of Button Blankets in Northwestern communities was due to the availability of the materials through cross-cultural contact in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. For example, the Europeans would trade the wool blankets in exchange for items like animals pelts.
How is it made?
“When I am working on button blankets, I feel that I’m ‘sculpting on cloth,’ my scissors being like a chisel and hammer to a sculptor.”—artist Dorothy Grant
In addition to these materials, some contemporary examples can also include plastic buttons (like this one does), beads, and metal decorations. Button blankets are most often created collaboratively. One person designs the robe, and another sews. Today, button blankets are a highly regarded art form.
Details
Bold use of color
The simplified color palette with the predominantly red, black, and white, with glimmers of color from the buttons, allow for the blanket’s intricate design to stand out with a vibrant presence. The contrasting colors, combined with the large scale, can grab the viewer’s attention, even from a distance.
Geometric and representational shapes
The combination of geometric and representational shapes create visually compelling designs. The imagery found on the button blanket serves as an identifier of one’s status and position within the group.
Scale
Since Button Blankets are meant to drape upon one’s shoulders, like a cloak or a cape, the size of the blanket should be large enough to wrap loosely around the body. Combined with the large, graphic imagery and bold colors, the blanket strikes a bold, commanding presence.
Raven crest
The design of this blanket resembles the raven motif that is found throughout Northwestern tribes on totem poles, bentwood boxes, and other forms of art. Stories that incorporate this bird as a character often share the histories, culture, and life lessons among the different Northwestern tribes. The raven is usually characterized with a large, curved beak, head turned to the side, and two outstretched wings.
Funding for object education resources provided by a grant from the Morgridge Family Foundation. Additional funding provided by the William Randolph Hearst Endowment for Education Programs, and Xcel Energy Foundation. We thank our colleagues at the University of Denver Morgridge College of Education.
The images on this page are intended for classroom use only and may not be reproduced for other reasons without the permission of the Denver Art Museum. This object may not currently be on display at the museum.
