Photographs (left to right): Suwannee River Park Live Oaks, Florida

Wampum Belt Archive

 

Hudson Bay Quill Wampum Belt

Quill and Glass Beaded Belt (Sloan: Plate XXXVIII)

British Museum No. 2043

 

Original Size:	Length: 28.3 inches. Width: 16.9
Reproduction:
Beads:
Materials:	Glass beads with quill work

Description:

A belt adorned with quills of birds or porcupines

This object is made of a heavy, tanned skin, with a decoration in quill work. The length is 720 mm. and the width 43 mm. The manner in which the quills are arranged and fastened is rather unusual. First, strips of bark or roots, averaging about 4.5 mm. in width, were closely and evenly wrapped with quills; these strips, eight in number, were then fastened to the band of skin, the edges of which were stitched with quills colored red. The colors of the quills used in this piece of work are the same as those on the thirty baskets, and there is something similar in the work. As will be seen in the illustration the ornamentation is separated into two parts, between which are two rows of small white glass beads. Pieces of wood about 5 mm. in diameter are fastened to each end of the belt.

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