Native American, Pacific Northwest Coast, United States / Canada, Tlingit, ca. 19th to early 20th century CE. An extremely rare dentalium shell wedding headdress for women, a hide cap covered with shells, glass beads, and red felt strips, and tassels of shells hanging from the nape like a veil- all strung on cotton threads. Dentalium also known as tusk shells, were highly valued and used for trade and ornamentation that indicated wealth - young women wore dentalium until marriageable age as a sign of prestige. On her wedding day, a headdress such as this was worn -the free hanging lengths brushing together, a rustling sound that was just loud enough to draw attention to her adornment. The significance and rarity of this headdress cannot be understated. The quality of preservation is superb, with some minor chips and fissures in the shells, but the majority are intact and tightly sewn in place. Size: 6" W x 12" H (15.2 cm x 30.5 cm); 14.5" H (36.8 cm) on included custom stand

The red felt would also help cushion the shells from breakage, and this may have come from stroud cloth / wool trade blanket, and the glass beads also indicate contact with Europeans and blue was the most prized color of all. In the Chinook Jargon, a trade language used amongst neighboring tribes of the Northeast, there was a specific name for blue beads to convey their importance, and today they are often known as ìchief beads,î and these often came from Russian fur traders. Dentalium shells (usually Antalis pretiosum) are harvested from ocean mollusks and the surfaces of some were painstakingly carved with linear motifs, most were drilled for suspension- exceedingly carefully- these delicate shells that required skill and a gentle hand. A vast trade and currency network grew up around these precious shells, not just on the coast, but into the interior of North America, Plains tribes such as the Lakota, also wore these shells as regalia ñ perhaps even more valued for the distance they traveled without breaking! A strand of shells the length of a manís arm, were the standard cost for a small fishing boat.

The stricter subjugation of Native and First Nation tribes in the late 19th century and into the mid-20th century led to harsh legislation surrounding potlatches in the Pacific Northwest, these cultural ceremonies were often when a woman celebrated her eligibility for marriage. The potlatch bans led to significant cultural damage and losses to many beautiful traditions such as the dentalium shell veils and other ceremonial regalia that used dentalium.

Please note this item falls under the Safeguard Tribal Objects of Patrimony Act and is not eligible for international shipping. Native American, Alaska Native, & Native Hawaiian objects are only eligible to ship within the United States.

Provenance: private West Jordon, Utah, USA collection, ex-Medford, Oregon, USA collection; ex-private British Columbia, Canada collection, acquired in the late 1960s

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#178522

Excellent. Some mineral deposits and some chips and losses to shells but most are intact and very good.