Over the course of the presentation, the authors sought to shed new light on decades-old questions regarding the blue colorant found in Chilkat blankets woven by the Tlingit peoples of northwest Alaska. Written documentation dating to the early 20th century reported the use of a copper-based blue “paint” to achieve the characteristic color, adding the confusion of pigment vs. dye to the mystery source of the blue. Instrumental analysis of Chilkat blankets in the collection of the National Museum of the American Indian gave inconclusive results, so the authors returned to primary source documents for answers. The complexity of the questions surrounding Chilkat blue required that analysis be informed by historical research and experimentation.
A highlight of this presentation was the emphasis placed on experiential research. A workshop held at NMAI provided the opportunity to work directly with indigo and woad dyestuffs, which illustrated the working properties and limitations of each blue colorant. It seemed that the authors were able to learn a great deal from the experience of using the dyes, and that those experiences will inform future examination of objects. This was a good reminder of the importance of understanding materials and their working properties.
Though questions remain about this significant component of the Chilkat weaving tradition, the research presented during this talk illustrated a number of interesting and significant developments. I greatly appreciated the acknowledgement of the authors that investigations are ongoing and concrete answers have yet to be reached – thanks to the authors for sharing such interesting findings!
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