Miniature Beaded Cradleboard by Elena Carol Pate (Choctaw) SOLD

Elena Carol Pate created a stunning, miniature cradleboard, beaded in the Kiowa style.  She used tiny #13 beads in light blue, dark blue, orange, yellow and white on a background of deep red.  At the top, there is a design based on a shield held by Chief Little Bird that Carol saw in an old photograph.

Carol Pate, who has won many awards for her beadwork, says that she doesn't draw out her designs before she starts a piece, explaining that,  "when I begin a piece, I choose my colors and put the ones I want into one bowl.  My husband thinks I'm crazy, but I like picking each bead out and seeing how the design evolves."

Length of board 11", width 4 1/2"; length of cradle 9", width 4"