wampum string
wampum string
wampum string
Wampum string with a small wooden cup and bone or ivory attachment. Northeastern Woodlands, made between 1600 and 1865. Collected by English ethnologist Henry Christy and donated to the British Museum between 1860 to 1869.
The British Museum object catalogue states this item is of Iroquoian or Algonquian origin.
Created with information from the British Museum accession record and observations made by the GRASAC research team.
Read More About This Relative
Seven purple and 185 white wampum beads strung upon commercial cotton thread. At the apex of the string are attached a small wooden cup, a turned bone or ivory attachment, similar to a bobbin or a lace needle, partially dyed red.
The beads are in the following configuration: 13w, 1p, 16w, 1p, 10w, 1p, 13w, 1p, 4w, 1p, 4w, 1p, 34w.
Date range given by the British Museum object catalogue entry
Provenance
Part of the Christy collection, it was donated to the British Museum by English ethnologist Henry Christy between 1860 and 1869.
About This GRASAC Record
Unknown artist, wampum string. Currently in the British Museum, Am.2771. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 26287.
This record was created as part of a Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures (GRASAC) research trip to the Pitt Rivers Museum and British Museum, December 8-22 2007, funded by a grant from the International Opportunities fund of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).
Researchers present: Heidi Bohaker (HB), John Borrows (JB), Lindsay Borrows (LB), Alan Corbiere (AC), Henrietta Lidchi (HL), Stacey Loyer (SL), Janis Monture (JM), Bruce Morito (BM), Ruth Phillips (RP), Anne De Stecher (AS), Cory Willmott (CW).