Dentalium – Wampum 2 Tear Purple Glass Heart Song Earrings

Description

Dentalium Wampum 2 Tear Purple Glass Heart Song Earrings are a magnificent and deeply meaningful expression of cultural heritage and artisan mastery. Measuring 1.5 × 10.25 inches, dentalium shells are carefully assembled with wampum hearts, silver beads, glass beads, silver cone beads, and lustrous pearl beads on a leather base, handwoven with Nymo thread and finished with surgical steel components in a rich, spiritual palette of purple, lavender, silver, white, clear crystal, and brown. The dual cascading tear drop tiers create a sweeping, dramatic silhouette of extraordinary presence and ceremonial elegance, each tier flowing naturally into the next with graceful, unhurried beauty. The clear crystal elements weave brilliance throughout the full length of the design, catching and scattering light with every movement and amplifying the deep purple and lavender tones with a jewel-like radiance that is at once bold and ethereal. The lustrous pearl beads add a refined, organic glow that softens the design with warmth and natural beauty.

In Native American traditions, dentalium — or tusk shells — are small tubular mollusk shells historically harvested from the Pacific Northwest, particularly around Vancouver Island. Highly prized for their rarity and natural beauty, dentalium shells were used by Indigenous peoples across America as a valued form of currency, trade, and regalia. Carefully harvested and widely traded among nations, they were used to adorn dresses, necklaces, earrings, and ceremonial accessories, symbolizing wealth, status, and cultural distinction. To wear dentalium is to carry the legacy of generations of Indigenous artistry, trade, and cultural pride.

The wampum hearts bring a profound and separate layer of cultural meaning to this design. Crafted from sacred Whelk and Purple Quahog clamshells by Eastern Woodland Indigenous nations, wampum served as both currency and as sacred markers of ceremony, storytelling, diplomatic agreements, and significant relationships. The heart form elevates this sacred material into a tender expression of compassion, devotion, and the enduring bonds between peoples and generations. Incorporated here in deep purple glass, the hearts carry the spiritual weight of wampum tradition while adding a contemporary luminance that honors the living nature of Indigenous cultural expression.

The dual tear tiers speak to abundance, duality, and the continuous flow of life — two streams of sacred energy moving together in graceful, unbroken continuity. The deep purple and lavender palette evokes spiritual depth, intuition, and the sacred mysteries of the natural world, while the crisp white and silver accents add luminous clarity and refined elegance throughout. The warm brown leather grounds the piece in organic tradition, connecting the finished design to the natural world from which all its materials were lovingly gathered.

Dentalium Wampum 2 Tear Purple Glass Heart Song Earrings honor this rich legacy through magnificent, ceremonial design and heartfelt detail — a wearable tribute to heritage, compassion, and the enduring cultural significance of nature’s most treasured shells.

Details

• Colors: Purple, lavender, silver, white, clear crystal, brown
• Materials: Dentalium shells, wampum hearts, silver beads, glass beads, silver cone beads, pearl beads, leather, Nymo thread, surgical steel
• Size: 1.5 × 10.25 inches

Care Instructions: Wipe with damp cloth and keep dry. Dentalium is a delicate shell and can break or crack if you are rough with it. Even though the Nymo thread is nylon based and is very strong, pulling hard and yanking on the earrings can tear the thread. Please be kind to these earrings when you wear them.