Wampum belt

Date created
circa 1680
Culture/People
Lenape (Delaware)
Previous owner
William Penn, Non-Indian, 1644-1718
J. Merrick Head (John Merrick Head), Non-Indian, ca. 1843-1915
Auction venue
Christie Manson & Woods Limited (Christie's), 1859-
MAI agent
William Ockleford Oldman (W.O. Oldman/William Ockelford Oldman), Non-Indian, 1879-1949
Presenter/funding source
Harmon W. Hendricks (Harmon Washington Hendricks), Non-Indian, 1846-1928
Collection History
Presented by the Lenape to William Penn (1644-1718), the founder of Pennsylvania, as part of a land sale or treaty in the 1680s; taken or sent to England and kept as property of the Penn family at Pennsylvania Castle, their estate in Portland, England; acquired by John Merrick Head (ca. 1843-1915) in 1887 when he purchased Pennsylvania Castle and its contents; sold at an auction of Penn items from Merrick's estate in July 1916 by Christie, Manson & Woods of London; purchased from the buyer at that sale by William Ockleford Oldman (1879-1949, who did business as "W.O. Oldman, Ethnographical Specimens, London"), who was acting for MAI, in 1916 using funds donated by MAI trustee Harmon W. Hendricks (1846-1928).
Contact Us
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Place
Pennsylvania; USA (inferred)
See related items
Lenape (Delaware)
Ceremonial/Ritual items
On View
NMAI, Washington DC: Nation to Nation, Two Ways of Being
Data Source
National Museum of the American Indian
Catalog Number
5/3150
Barcode
053150.000
Object Type
Ceremonial/Ritual items
Object Name
Wampum belt
Media/Materials
Whelk shell beads (white wampum), quahog clam shell beads (purple wampum), hide thong/babiche, cordage, ochre
Techniques
Loom beadwork, colored
Dimensions
107 x 13.70 x 63 cm
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ws60f0c46d7-d2b4-49ba-82c0-9ed29109df91
Record ID
NMAI_57010