This rare vintage trade bead necklace is shades of brown and ivory, made of agate and shell. Indigenous People all over the world created beads with which to trade long before their contact with Europeans, but especially when settlers came to what is now North America, the variety of beads the Native People used (as well as the quantity they produced) changed drastically, which is why we can find examples of Native American jewelry using Venetian millefiori beads, large "padre" beads, and the like. Agate, as used in this necklace, was widely used in trade bead necklaces until around the mid 1800s, when the indigenous craftswomen who created these began requesting smaller seed beads. Thus, an example like this is very rare. Measuring about 16. 25", this is the perfect "long choker" length. It's finished in the back with a twist clasp.

(This piece and others in this capsule were created by indigenous people in the United States and Mexico using traditional methods. A portion of sales will be donated to NDN Collective, an Indigenous-led organization working on the ground to protect Native land and provide much-needed resources to Indigenous communities in the United States.)

Great vintage condition.

This item is sold from an excellent, highly rated vintage seller in New York, NY.