This is a fabulous 19th-Century Plains Old Trade Clothe Cowrie Shell Wampum Beaded Dress with Concho Belt with Drop from a private Montana Museum collection. The 1800’s dress exhibits old dark blue woolen stroud trade clothe with accents in old trade clothe ribbons with fringes in pale purple, green and dark purple which border each arm and the bottom. The neck shows a green ribbon edge. There are five rows of Cowrie Wampum Shell beaded on the front and three rows on the back with various Indian tanned ties and fringes throughout. There is an original Plains German Silver Concho belt with trailer accompanied with the piece showing a total of 21 large silver conchos on old trade leather in classic 1800’s pattern. They are backed with mother of pearl 1800’s buttons and some show some repair work for the attachment. The dress shows some fraying, loss of color from honest age, but overall is truly a beautiful and wonderful piece. For reference of dresses with concho belts see the Central Plains Blue Trade Clothe Dress with Concho belt sold by Skinner’s in 2010 for $7,962, the 1880’s Comanche Dress having Belt with Drop sold by Caliburn in 2025 for $4,318 and as for a cowrie shell trade clothe dress see the Sioux Cowry Shell Dress 1880-1890 sold by our company North American Auction in 2018 for $4,687 (all shown w/ bp). Overall the dress measures 41.5-inches long by 31-inches wide.