Zuni Pueblo Turquoise Encrusted Ceremonial Fetish Jar, circa 1950 [R]

Pueblo Indians have for centuries regarded turquoise as one of their most prized possessions.  To the residents of Zuni Pueblo, turquoise was a gift from the Gods of War.  It is no wonder, then, that the Zuni would use turquoise to encrust the ceremonial feeding jars of fetishes.  These jars are used as repositories for fetishes when they are not in the possession of a person.  They are stored in the jars and ceremonially fed while there.

The fetish jar is the standard vessel shape of traditional ollas but has a hole, an inch or so in diameter, through which the fetishes are fed.  The hole is near the bottom of the jar for convenience.  Fetish jars are decorated with designs as any jar would be but the designs are covered with turquoise chips so the design is not visible.  The older Zuni men say they have no idea of the origin of the turquoise-encrusted jars but that they are as old as the Turquoise Boy who came from his mountains in the northeast (the Cerrillos Mountains of New Mexico).

The fetish jars are homes in which the fetishes live and usually would have importance only from their contact with the fetish.  Once a jar is no longer used to house fetishes, then the jar has no connection to the fetishes and therefore no ceremonial significance and may be given away or sold, even to a non-Indian.

Condition:  very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a prominent Arizona collector

Reference:  "Turquoise Encrusted Pottery of Zuni" by Aileen Nusbaum, The Masterkey, Vol. XII, No. 3, May 1938