Wampum Belt with Pearls
![Belt with woven pearls, long rectangular shaped, with purple and white stains. We can see the shape of an axe as decoration.](https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/une-nature-qui-donne-vie_where-nature-is-life/wp-content/uploads/sites/103/2019/09/https-_americanindian.si_.edu_webmultimedia_4056_058_055.700x700.jpg.jpg)
Smithsonian Institution Collection, National Museum of the American Indian, catalog number 9776, http://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:NMAI_10059.
Made around 1670 from quahog (clam shell) pearls, whelk shell pearls, sinew, rope and stain. Used during ceremonies or rituals.
Source : province of Québec; Algonquin fabrication; was Moses Stacey’s property (Moses Stacy / Ma-is-ta-cu-te-tee, Kahnawake Mohawk); transferred to Harriet Maxwell Converse (Gayaneshaoh, 1836-1903) in 1901; soon transferred again to Joseph W. Keppler (1872-1956, a long-time friend of George Heye); acquired by George Heye from Joseph Keppler in 1906.