Glass bead body jewelry by Bill Smith

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

Glass bead body jewelry piece from the “Jewelry-as-Clothing” collection by Bill Smith for Richelieu. The piece is comprised of two separate brass chains, one at the collar and one just below the waist, with lengths of metal chains suspended between them across the front and back. The brass chains are made of ribbed circles joined by brass loops with black glass beads on either side. Doubled lengths of the suspended metal chains are joined at the black beads. The collar chain on the back has a hook and loop closure and the waist chain has a J-hook clasp.

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