Gilcrease Museum is temporarily closed for construction.

Get the Full Story

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).

You may be interested in...

Title(s): 
Italian trade bead necklace
Culture: 
Native American; Plains
Date: 
20th century
Period: 
Historic
Place: 
Great Plains, United States of America
Materials/Techniques: 
glass, bone, leather
Dimensions: 
39 in. (99.1 cm)
Classification: 
Object Type: 
Accession No: 
84.2504
Department: 
Not On View

Our Online Collections site is a work in progress. If you have information about this item that may be of assistance, please contact us.