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Bone turtle leg necklace with glass beads / Unknown

Essay/Description

Trade bead necklace with glass beads and turtle leg bones.

Plains Indians’ necklaces “were made of grass, seeds, shell beads, strings of fossil crinoids, animal claws, horns, antlers, and teeth, especially elk teeth” (Paterek 1994, 86). 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).

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Title(s): 
Bone turtle leg necklace with glass beads
Creator(s): 
Unknown
Culture: 
Native American; possibly Osage (artist and user)
Date: 
19th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
glass, bone (turtle), cotton
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.119
Department: 
Not On View

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