Zuni Pueblo Turquoise Encrusted Bowl with Fetishes [SOLD]

“Edna Leki is believed to have been Zuni's first female fetish carver and is the daughter of famed fetish carver and lapidarist Teddy Weahkee. Weahkee became well-known for a style of fetish carving that closely resembles historic Zuni forms. His daughters, Edna Leki and Mary Tsikewa, carried on the carving tradition, as did Edna's daughters Dinah Gasper and Lena Boone. Edna was also the mother of Anderson Weakhee.

“Leki originally worked in channel inlay jewelry, but when her father reached an advanced age, she assisted him in fetish carving; and, thereafter, she devoted herself to carving. She and her father are credited with producing the first fetish bowls for the commercial market, rather than for ceremonial use. The pots themselves, to which Leki applied crushed turquoise and directional fetishes, were typically made by an Acoma potter.”  Kennedy Museum of Art website

This fetish bowl is typical of those made by Edna Leki.  The bowl appears to be hand coiled and was probably made for Leki by a potter at another pueblo.  There are eight fetishes attached to the exterior of the bowl through holes drilled into the bowl.

Condition: original condition.

Provenance: purchased from the artist in 1978 by Adobe Gallery and sold to an Albuquerque client from whose estate is has been returned to us.

Recommended Reading: Southern Pueblo Pottery: 2000 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf