Patterned beading
I recently bought this beaded piece from the Junk Company in town (I love that place!). The guy who served me had no information about it, but it was marked as a teapot rest. At 9cm across, it seems pretty small for that purpose, other than for a very small teapot- which, of course, do exist. Still, I’m not convinced.
The turquoise and glass beading is intact and still vibrant but there is wear on the shells, suggesting that something was either placed upon or rubbed against them repeatedly.
Turquoise and shells
Worn or missing beads
It is backed with cotton and has a black velvet edge, which both show signs of age and use. Interestingly, the brown thread used to attach the shells is visible, as are bright orange and pink threads used to work stitches between the outer two rounds of turquoise beads. It seems odd that there was no effort made to cover the back of the piece, which makes me wonder if it was attached to something else?
Back
The colours make me think of Tibet and northern China but I have no idea about beading. I’d love to hear if anyone has any ideas about what it is and where it is from?
woollenflower 
No idea sorry, but it’s beautiful, and I do love the Junk Company too!
It looks very native American. I’m not sure they used shells in their work though. It’s a lovely piece!
Very tentatively … I was once at an exhibition of beaded and felted pieces from Central Asia, mostly Mongolia. I saw something not unlike this, although I don’t think it had shells, that was part of an ornamental harness … could this be something similar but native American?