Artwork Details
- Title
- Necklace with Antler Tips
- Artist
- Date
- ca. 1975
- Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- height x length: 2 1⁄2 x 25 3⁄8 in. (6.5 x 64.5 cm)
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- Mediums Description
- silver, deer antler, and leather
- Classifications
- Object Number
- 1975.157
Artwork Description
The materials in Necklace with Antler Tips refer to Weldon Merchant’s experiences growing up in rural Mississippi and his interest in Native American history and artifacts. Merchant constructed this piece from ten antler tips of various sizes and separated them with carved silver beads. The clasp is made of two more antler tips capped with a hook-and-eye fastener. The silver shows Merchant’s familiarity with the blacksmithing traditions of settlers, while the antler tips may allude to hunting as a means of survival among Native Americans.