Vintage Navajo Hand Beaded Lanyard With Black Leather

In the spirit of all things seed bead, beloved matron of Native American art Martha Struever kept a small stash of little hand beaded accessories in colors and/or styles that she enjoyed.

This one is a Navajo-made lanyard. Let's face it, lanyards are not exactly known for being stylish. This one, though, with its black braided leather strap and little 1 3/8" section of beads in a lightning pattern is about as fashionable of a lanyard as they come The leather strap looks like one from a bolo and the beads are in muted colors of black, maroon, gunmetal and pearl. You can actually wear it with your Native American jewelry and still look good. 

Back in the day when Martha Struever participated in Native American art shows and led Native American art themed field trips, she often needed a lanyard to hold her entry tickets and name badges. That's where nice, handmade lanyards like this one came in.

This lanyard is unworn, but it does come from Marti's collection. It measures 17 1/2" long