Nivkh fish skin robe

Historically, fish skin as a material for clothing was widely used by the indigenous peoples of the Amur river region. A feature which was apparently so striking that in Chinese sources they were collectively referred to as ‘Fish Skin Tatars’. Fish skin clothing is, however, a feature of people that are distinct in many other areas. They have their own distinct languages, some of which are completely unrelated to any other, such as the language of the Nivkh people who made this robe.