Lot 247, Auction 3/19/2026: Native American Mississippian Period Shell Necklace

$520.00

In stock

Native American, Southern United States, Caddo / Mississippian culture, ca. 900 to 1450 CE. A strand composed of numerous shell fragments, each drilled with a small suspension hole and strung on cotton thread, terminating in a large triangular pendant cut from whelk shell. The shells likely originate from a single archaeological context and may have formed part of a funerary adornment, as marine shells held strong symbolic and ceremonial significance within Caddo and broader Mississippian belief systems, often associated with water, fertility, and cosmological order. The surfaces show natural variation, weathering, and age-consistent wear. Size of strand: 30″ L (76.2 cm); shell pendant: 3.5″ L x 1.25″ W (8.9 cm x 3.2 cm)

Condition: Pitting and chips to shells. Light mineral encrustations. Strung in modern times on a modern cotton thread.

Provenance: private southwestern Pennsylvania, USA collection, acquired prior to 2000

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