string of beads

Images

Introduction

Catlinite and bone beads from North America with Dutch shell beads strung on cotton thread. Dutch bead may have been traded with the Seneca. Collected by Dr. Oronhyatekha; acquired by the ROM in 1911 from the Independent Order of Foresters.

Read More About This Relative

Materials

Beads (predominately red, one striped, darkish green, 2 almost black); marine shell; faunal bone tubes; ceramic pipe stem; tubes are made of different media - catlinite, shell (has a swirl), bone.

Techniques or Format

LD notes joiner piece at bottom is perforated and etched, designed to take an attachment; there are also 4 elongated tubes on either side, separated by round beads or shells. One tube possibly pipe stem. One tubular piece is bluish as opposed to red. 4th bead in from the top is a striped bead which someone looked at recently at the ROM and typed it as a "Dutch" bead. Bone bead may have been smoothed on rock.

Motifs and Patterns

Joiner piece is etched with notches.

Dimensions: 32 × 0 × 0 cm

Condition: Good

Provenance

Current Location: Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON, Canada

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 911.3.41

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1911

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Independent Order of Foresters

Publication History

F. Barlow Cumberland, Catalogue and Notes of the Oronhyatekha Historical Collection (Toronto: Independent Order of Foresters, 1904), p. 48, 49. "String of European and Catlinite and Shell Beads."

About This GRASAC Record

GKS Reference Number: 1147

How to Cite this Item

Unknown artist, string of beads. Currently in the Royal Ontario Museum, 911.3.41. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2008; GRASAC item id 1147.

Record Creation Context

Record created during a GRASAC trip to Royal Ontario Museum December 15 to 19, 2008. Present in the archaeology lab: Lewis Debassige (LD), Heidi Bohaker (HB), Stacey Loyer (SL), Darlene Johnston (DJ) and April Hawkins (AH).

Approximate Place of Origin

42.3314, -83.0458

Source of Information about Places

More specific attribution not known.
Catlinite and bone beads may be locally made. Blue swirly bead is Dutch.

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