Belt Strap- Wampum

Wampum belt strap 3 row

This Belt Strap- Wampum 3 Row features a repeating geometric pattern. The crafter used glass Wampum Beads in White and Cobalt Blue and Smoke Deerskin Leather Lacing to create the belt.  This handmade glass bead Wampum Belt Cobalt measures  approx. 43 Inches long x 1.25 inches wide. The Deerskin Leather Lacing fringe measures about 6 inches long .

One of a Kind!

Native Americans who lived on the Northeast Coast created distinctive beads from the shells of the Quahog clam and Whelk snails.  They called these purple and white beads wampum. Crafters strung  early disc shaped wampum beads in simple strands.  When tube shaped wampum beads made from shell and glass were available, they strung them together with a loom and made them into belts. Crafters created patterns by using one color bead as the background and the other for contrast. They used some of these belts to convey messages of war or peace.  Wampum belts became symbols of status.

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