wampum strings

wampum strings

wampum strings

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Introduction

Purple and white wampum beads. Haudenosaunee or Anishinaabeg, made between 1600 and 1900. Part of a collection purchased by the British Museum from Mrs. A Corner in 1938.

Nation of Maker: Algonquin Anishinaabe Hodenosaunee/Haudenosaunee
Nation of Origin

Anishinaabeg; Hodenosaunee; Other: It may also be Algonquin. The British Museum record lists this item as Iroquois.

Date Made or Date Range: 17 C to 20 C
Materials

Purple and white wampum beads, formerly strung upon three strands of commercial twine connected at one end and affixed to a leather tab.

Techniques or Format

There are about 40 to 100 beads in total, all of which are purple except for three or four white examples.

Original and Subsequent Uses

Used at a Condolence, and carried back and forth, one for each of the Six Nations.

Condition: Poor.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

British Museum object catalogue entry

Current Location: British Museum, London, UK
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: Am1938,0311.2
Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: Mrs. A Corner
Collection Narratives and Histories

Part of a larger collection purchased by the British Museum from Mrs. A Corner in 1938 for 23-00s-00d.

Source for Provenance information

This information comes from a general label associated with this wampum string and others numbered 1938,0311.3 - 1938,0311.7.

GKS Reference Number: 26991
How to Cite this Item

Unknown artist, wampum strings. Currently in the British Museum, Am1938,0311.2. Item photographed and described as part of a GRASAC research trip December 2007; GRASAC item id 26991.

Record Creation Context

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).

Record Creation Notes/Observations

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).

Approximate Place of Origin

43.0703, -80.1184

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