Tumpline

This beautiful piece is a copy of a Courroie-Porte-Paquets tumpline.

A tumpline was used by most ancient peoples and is still used in remote and underdeveloped areas as a strap secured to a basket and placed over the forehead or sometimes across the chest to carry a load. Usually the tumpline would be sturdy and very plain, a woven or leather strap. This exquisitely beaded piece would most likely have supported an equally beautiful cradleboard to carry an infant about.

If you don't have a cradleboard worthy of this lavishly decorated floral piece you might consider wearing it as a belt. It will raise a simple frock to elegant status and certainly incite admiration for the wearer. It would also be a wonderful addition to a collection of Native American material culture.

It is beaded on black velvet with tiny glass seed beads in two needle flat stitch. it is outlined with white sead beads and sewn to hand tanned deer rawhide. The piece measures 39 inches from velvet edge to velvet edge and 54 inches from each end of the rawhide. It is a comfortable 4 inches high.

This tumpline/belt is immediately available for $1,200.00 plus shipping.

Amulets

Turtle and Lizard amulets are created to hold a baby's umbilical cord. It is kept with them on their cradleboard then on their person. Turtle amulets are made for girls and lizard amulets for boys.

Each amulet is about four inches long, beaded and decorated with tin cones. It will be stuffed with horsehair but you can easily open it to insert the dried umbilical cord if you desire.

I'll make a special amulet for the new child in your life for $60.00.