This necklace is unique. Typically, necklaces such as these are strung with an array of trade beads and accented with an undecorated conch shell.

In this case, the commercial beads through which the necklace is threaded consist of a wide array of exotic glass trade beads. The conch, meanwhile, is incised with a drawing of a Plains woman in profile.

Few incised necklaces are known. The handful which exist can be found in museums, typically field collected by ethnographers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The portrayal here of a woman is curious, however, as most pictorials portray animals or deities. Could this be the owner? Perhaps this was a preferred wife of the carver?

This uniqueness of this necklace was clearly not lost on collector Ann Evans (1871–1941), much of whose collection eventually found its way to the Denver Art Museum.

Approximately 18” long (necklace, as displayed); 2” diameter (conch)

Ex Anne Evans, CO (1871-1941); handed down by descent

#50942