Zuni Pueblo Bobcat Turquoise Fetish and Bag [SOLD]

Teddy Weahkee was a multi-talented artist.  Beginning in the 1920s, he mastered most jewelry techniques.  He sold his work to C. G. Wallace and other traders.  He specialized in mosaic inlay, creating complex designs of figures from Zuni culture.  He also was a fine carver of fetishes and miniature sculptures of Zuni human and ceremonial figures. He and Leekya Deyuse were among the first to carve figures to be sold to the public.  Both worked with archaeologists on the excavation of Hawikuh, an ancestral Zuni Pueblo.  Schaaf

Fetishes are carvings believed to have a spirit within them, which can help the current owner if they are used properly and respectfully. They may be used for hunting, the diagnosis and cure of disease, initiations, warfare, gambling, propagation, spells, and good luck and usually assume the shape of an animal.

This fetish is that of a Bobcat.  It is of natural turquoise.  The addition of the stone arrowhead off to the side of the fetish and the abalone one on top and the feathers are additional embellishments to increase the strength of the fetish, to make it more powerful.

The fetish comes with a leather bag for storage and there are 9 additional small fetishes attached to the fringe strips of the bag.  It has been independently identified as the work of Teddy Weahkee by two expert dealers and authors regarding fetishes.

Condition:  original condition

Provenance: from the estate of a prominent Santa Fe dealer and collector

Recommended Reading:  Fetishes and Carvings of the Southwest by Oscar T. Branson