Beaded leather moccasins with split tongue and geometric designs
Wooden kachina with a white body, black shirt, and black yarn for hair
Italian trade bead necklace / Native American; Plains
Essay/Description
Trade bead necklace: Multiple chevron or “star” beads with bone hairpipe spacers.
Bead Dimensions: 12 Cylinder Disk Chevrons -- L : 0.41” D .89”; 4 Ellipsoidal Chevrons -- L : 0.67” D: 0.51”; 1 Cylinder Chevron -- 1.17” D: 0.81”; 16 Bone spacers -- L: 1.45” W: 0.25”
Chevron beads manufactured in Murano, Italy.
Trade beads were made and brought from Europe to trade with the Native Americans for gold, furs, and other precious materials. Many beads were made in Italy, often from glass. The Native Americans greatly valued these beads because the beads they made were arduously crafted one at a time and, therefore, were valuable and rare (Dubin 1999, 172).
