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Leather belt with conchos
Carol King Rachlin
Leather and German silver Native American Church belt
Carol King Rachlin

Leather belt with German silver conchos / Unknown

Essay/Description

The belt is composed of six sections (two long and four short) of commercially-tanned leather that have been repurposed from another use. There are many holes in the wide leather section indicating this earlier use that are not functional for the belt. This wide section is meant to encircle the wearers waist. The leather section that holds the buckle is a separate piece attached to the wide leather section with two iron rivets. (A third iron rivet is present at the opposite end, purpose unclear, and perhaps from an earlier use.). At the opposite end of the wide leather strap are two smaller leather sections that each have one hole to take the buckle. Possibly the narrower section was added later to accommodate a larger wearer. These two sections are attached with sinew. The fifth and sixth sections of leather, one long and one short, are attached to each other with sinew and compose a long narrow strip meant to hang down from the wide belt portion. This strip is attached to the belt with buckskin laces.

Decorating the belt are German silver conchos in four sizes: 14 small ones and 11 slightly larger ones adorn the narrow hanging strap; 16 large ones are on the belt portion with one extra large at the end of the belt. These plain convex discs lack any pattern and each has a metal loop soldered to the interior. Buckskin laces pass through these loops to attach them to the belt through holes in the leather. Another German silver piece covers most of the end of the hanging strap. It has a decorative band of triangles impressed into the wider end and is held in place with a metal loop that encircles the strap and a metal brad fastener that passes through a hole in the leather and is spread wide. The edges of the metal fold around the strap as well.

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Title(s): 
Leather belt with German silver conchos
Creator(s): 
Unknown
Culture: 
Native American; possibly Cheyenne (artist and user)
Date: 
19th century - 20th century
Materials/Techniques: 
commercially-tanned leather, semi-tanned hide, German silver conchos, steel buckle and rivets, sinew
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.1221a-b
Previous Number(s): 
8426.1221 a-b
Department: 
Not On View

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