C-1-140 Maidu shell and bead necklace.
The Maidu are divided into three groups: the Nisenan (Valley), the Konkow (Foothill) and the Sierra (Mountain) Maidu. These peoples spoke mutually unintelligible dialects of the Maidu language, which belongs to the Penutian Super Family of languages. Their traditional territory is in northeastern California just north of Yosemite and bordered on the west by the Sacramento River with Lake Tahoe to the east.
This rare example of a mid 19th century necklace was collected in the Sacramento Valley region in 1850 during the California Gold Rush and has descended through the family along with a few other mementoes from that time. The beads include large tubular white and red with yellow centers for the necklace proper and remnants of an earlier side stitch necklace attached to the bottom along with various abalone pendants to form multiple attachments. A very rare and, admittedly, esoteric example of early California jewelry.
Approx 20"Long. Circa 1850. $650.00