Native American, Western United States, Plains Tribes, likely Sioux, ca. early to mid-20th century CE. A pair of rawhide and hand beaded fetish amulets in the form of turtles, filled with stuffing that consists of animal hair and / or the dried umbilical cord from a newborn. The rawhide from a deer or bison is hand stitched with hundreds of glass seed beads in hues of pink, yellow, green, blue, and red into a checkered pattern on the shell. The tips of the limbs on one have beaded loops and a suspension cord on the head, the other contains larger glass trade beads and metal cone danglers. When a child was born the mother sewed 2 animal amulets to hang on the cradle - one for holding the dried umbilical cord, and the other was a decoy to confuse evil spirits. When old enough, the child later wore the amulet for protection, the lizard is symbolic of boys while turtles symbolize girls. Size of largest: 5.5" L x 4.5" W (14 cm x 11.4 cm)

Provenance: private San Francisco, California, USA collection, acquired 1970s to 2000s

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#174042

Beading is intact on both. Some patina on metal cones. Both are in excellent condition.