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Naakw gwéil (Octopus Bag)
Accession # 08.491.8896
Culture Tlingit
Title Naakw gwéil (Octopus Bag)
Date 1868-1901
Medium Wool, cotton, glass beads
Dimensions 17 11/16 x 9 7/16 in. (44.9 x 24 cm)
Credit Line Museum Expedition 1908, Museum Collection Fund
Location American Identities: Inventing American Landscape
Description Octopus bag made entirely from trade materials. These distinctive cloth pouches were accessories for ceremonial clothing. They were called octopus bags because of their tentacle-like fringes. Some of the Tlingit designs may have been influenced by proximity to the Athabascan groups to the east. The reverse of the bag is plain. The pouch has four double fringe "arms" and a black wool strap.