Vintage Edna Leki Bushytail

This bushytail was carved by the first woman to ever carve Zuni fetishes, Edna Leki.  This one was probably carved in the 1970s or 1980s and has been well loved for many years in the personal collection of the owner of Gathering Tribes.  It was carved from what appears to be Picasso marble and has inlaid turquoise eyes.  The offering bundle is a gold lip mother of pearl arrowhead with two natural turquoise beads surrounding red coral. 

Size: 1.5" H x .5" W x 3" L

“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 Pueblo 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