THE INVITER

Original painting in acrylic on linen  16” X 12”  1992

Collection of Bruce and Linda Colasurdo

Giclée print in archival ink on lignin and acid free paper  20” X 14 ½ “

A Tlingit village chief watches the approach of his invited guests arriving by canoe.  He is the custodian of noble emblems that attest to the aristocracy of his lineage.  Primary among these is a painted spruce root hat, topped with a column of basketry cylinders supporting the carved figure of the fin of the killer whale.  The hat painting depicts the whale itself, blowhole represented by a human face with its body streaming back as the whale’s breath.  Clan crest hats are the royal crowns of Tlingit nobility, to be worn only on occasions of the greatest importance.  In this way, the inviter honors his guests.

Over the chief’s shoulders drapes a Chilkat robe.  Even more abstractly stylized than the painting on the hat, a diving whale in broad, black formlines, enriched with yellow and blue detail, spreads across the back of the robe and over the wearer’s shoulders.  Dancing nobles all along the northern coast carry rattles shaped as a raven bearing a mysterious assemblage of figures on its back.  The inviter will dance on the shore in response to the ceremonial arrival of the visitors.  A rich finishing touch to his noble dress are the great shark-tooth earrings, said to have been worn only by chiefs.