Zuni
Southwest
1990s
Sterling silver and turquoise
Slide length 5 1/2 inches (14 cm)
190.56 grams
Signed
Provenance: Private collection, Mesilla, New Mexico
The slide is a single large turquoise carved in relief as a standing creature, the body cut with a ridged and lobed back, a raised head at the top, and heavy limbs below, worked so the natural brown matrix falls across the lower half like ground while the blue runs through the upper body. The stone sits in a silver bezel edged with twisted wire that follows every curve of the carving, and the frame beneath is built up with long feather forms, applied silver beads, and a scrolled terminal. At 5 1/2 inches and 190 grams this is a slide made at display scale, hung on a heavy braided black leather cord.
Manuel Weahkee is a Zuni carver who lives with his family north of the Zuni reservation. He is the grandson of Willie Weahkee, whose brother Teddy Weahkee was the father of Edna Leki and the grandfather of Dinah Gasper and Lena Boone, placing him within one of the best documented carving families at Zuni. He moved north when he married and raised his family there, and the family kept close ties to the Pueblo, returning for gatherings, ceremonies, and dances. He carves animals, working principally in bears.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Zuni
Southwest
1990s
Sterling silver and turquoise
Slide length 5 1/2 inches (14 cm)
190.56 grams
Signed
Provenance: Private collection, Mesilla, New Mexico
The slide is a single large turquoise carved in relief as a standing creature, the body cut with a ridged and lobed back, a raised head at the top, and heavy limbs below, worked so the natural brown matrix falls across the lower half like ground while the blue runs through the upper body. The stone sits in a silver bezel edged with twisted wire that follows every curve of the carving, and the frame beneath is built up with long feather forms, applied silver beads, and a scrolled terminal. At 5 1/2 inches and 190 grams this is a slide made at display scale, hung on a heavy braided black leather cord.
Manuel Weahkee is a Zuni carver who lives with his family north of the Zuni reservation. He is the grandson of Willie Weahkee, whose brother Teddy Weahkee was the father of Edna Leki and the grandfather of Dinah Gasper and Lena Boone, placing him within one of the best documented carving families at Zuni. He moved north when he married and raised his family there, and the family kept close ties to the Pueblo, returning for gatherings, ceremonies, and dances. He carves animals, working principally in bears.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
