Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
1930s
Antler, sinew, crow and turkey feathers, turquoise
Length 11¼ in (28.6 cm)
Provenance: Steve Nelson, Redondo Beach, CA; Tony Berlant, Santa Monica, CA (inventory #552)
Teddy Weahkee (1890–1965) was among the most significant Zuni artists of the twentieth century, known for his jewelry, fetishes, paintings, and shell mosaic work. He began his education at Phoenix Indian School before returning to Zuni Pueblo, where he learned silversmithing and became one of the first Zuni artists to produce carved fetish figures for outside collectors, selling early work to C.G. Wallace and other prominent traders. His deep familiarity with Zuni material tradition was reinforced by his participation in archaeological excavations at Hawikuh Pueblo, where contact with ancestral Zuni objects directly shaped his artistic practice.
This fetish is constructed from a naturally curved antler, wrapped with sinew and dressed with crow and turkey feathers, with turquoise set at the base — materials drawn directly from the natural world surrounding Zuni Pueblo and consistent with Weahkee's known working methods. The piece passed through the collections of Steve Nelson in Redondo Beach and Tony Berlant in Santa Monica, both serious collectors of Native American material, giving it a well-documented provenance. Weahkee's fetishes are increasingly difficult to locate outside of institutional holdings.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Zuni Pueblo, New Mexico
1930s
Antler, sinew, crow and turkey feathers, turquoise
Length 11¼ in (28.6 cm)
Provenance: Steve Nelson, Redondo Beach, CA; Tony Berlant, Santa Monica, CA (inventory #552)
Teddy Weahkee (1890–1965) was among the most significant Zuni artists of the twentieth century, known for his jewelry, fetishes, paintings, and shell mosaic work. He began his education at Phoenix Indian School before returning to Zuni Pueblo, where he learned silversmithing and became one of the first Zuni artists to produce carved fetish figures for outside collectors, selling early work to C.G. Wallace and other prominent traders. His deep familiarity with Zuni material tradition was reinforced by his participation in archaeological excavations at Hawikuh Pueblo, where contact with ancestral Zuni objects directly shaped his artistic practice.
This fetish is constructed from a naturally curved antler, wrapped with sinew and dressed with crow and turkey feathers, with turquoise set at the base — materials drawn directly from the natural world surrounding Zuni Pueblo and consistent with Weahkee's known working methods. The piece passed through the collections of Steve Nelson in Redondo Beach and Tony Berlant in Santa Monica, both serious collectors of Native American material, giving it a well-documented provenance. Weahkee's fetishes are increasingly difficult to locate outside of institutional holdings.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
