Robert Kaniatobe Fossilized Ivory Three-Strand Fetish Necklace

This three-strand necklace features hand carved fetishes from fossilized walrus ivory. The fetishes were made by Choctaw artist Robert Kaniatobe (1936-1998). Kristen Kaniatobe designed the necklaces for Robert, basing her design on the availability of antique materials from throughout the world. The Kaniatobes lived and worked in Albuquerque, New Mexico, during the 1980s and ‘90s, sharing the large adobe house in Old Town with Adobe Gallery.

The fetishes on this necklace are strung on three strands. There is a hand with a red coral insert in the palm, a claw with a carved eye design, a large pendant frog, several varieties of serpents, and a bear. There is a total of 9 hand carved fetishes strung on fossilized ivory beads with coral and turquoise beads intermittently spaced.

Robert Kaniatobe (1936-1998) was born in Tom, Oklahoma, and attended Idabel Public Schools during his early years. He graduated from Chilocco Indian School, served in the U. S. Army in the Medical Corps, and was stationed in Alaska and France. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from San Francisco State University. Robert said that a major stimulus for his art interest was his exposure to prehistoric and contemporary Eskimo art while stationed in Alaska. He was also inspired by many museums and prehistoric cave art in France and Western Europe.

Robert specialized in designing and carving fetish figures, designing silver art works, and sculpting in clay. In the 1980s, he began putting his hand-carved fetishes together with various beads and forming exquisite necklaces, such as this one.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Robert Kaniatobe Fossilized Ivory Three-Strand Fetish Necklace is from the estate of a Santa Fe resident

Recommended Reading: The Four Winds Guide to Indian Trade Goods and Replicas by Preston E. Miller

TAGS: Choctaw Tribe, Southwest Indian Jewelry, Robert Kaniatobe