Umbilical Cord Amulet
- Culture
- Northern Plains artist
- Date
- c.1890
- possibly made in
- United States, North and Central America
- possibly made in
- Canada, North and Central America
- Classification
- Jewelry & personal accessories
- Collection
- Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 13 1/4 × 1 3/4 × 5/8 in. (33.7 × 4.4 × 1.6 cm)
- Credit Line
- The Donald Danforth Jr. Collection, Gift of Mrs. Donald Danforth Jr.
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 75:2010
NOTES
Women created this type of small beaded pouch to store an infant’s dried umbilical cord. Such containers often dangled from cradles as a first toy, providing children visual delight and spiritual blessings for a long life.
Umbilical amulets are culturally and geographically widespread on the Plains, and the identity of the person who made this work is unknown. Contemporary artist Wendy Red Star (Apsáalooke) identified this abstracted form as a lizard, noting that Apsáalooke women create such amulets for boys.
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