Cowrie Shell Necklace
date: label: date made
content: n.d.
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: One (1) cowrie shell necklace with one hundered and eleven (111) cowrie shells
label: Description
content: Seashells circulated as a medium of exchange in Asia, Africa, Oceania, and North America. The cowrie shell, in particular, was a form of currency in West Africa during the transatlantic slave trade. West African cultures valued cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean and they became an accepted form of currency in the region. An estimated 344,000 people were captured in Africa and transported directly to mainland North America by 1776 and cowries facilitated these transactions alongside coins, manillas, and other local objects of exchange.
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: National Numismatic Collection
label: See more items in
content: Many Voices, One Nation
label: Exhibition
content: Many Voices, One Nation
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: The Chase Manhattan Bank
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 1979.1263.00525
label: accession number
content: 1979.1263
label: catalog number
content: 79.112.OC014
label: collector/donor number
content: OC014
objectType: label: Object Name
content: alternative currency
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: shell (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: string (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: white (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: yellow (overall color)
label: Physical Description
content: holed then strung (overall production method/technique)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 27 cm x 19 cm x 2 cm; 10 5/8 in x 7 15/32 in x 25/32 in