White & Cobalt Blue Brain Tanned Wampum Belt

This Brain Tanned Wampum Belt has three rows of white and cobalt blue wampum beads. The crafter used glass Wampum Beads and Deerskin Leather lacing to create the belt.

This handmade glass bead Wampum Belt measures approx. 42inches long x 1.5 inches wide. The fringe measures about 4.25inches 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. You can wear a Wampum Belt as a strap for a bag or  as a sash.

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