Edna Leki Jasper Stone Bushtail Fetish

Edna Leki (1924 – 2003) was a Zuni Pueblo artist who learned from and carried on the tradition of fetish carving from her father Teddy Weahkee, a Zuni artist of many media and the master carver of fetishes.

Edna made her fetishes with files, hand drills and pedal grinders, and hand carved the arrowhead and bead offerings tied to the animals with leather and deer sinew.

This elegantly carved reddish brown jasper bushytail (coyote, wolf or fox) is adorned with a green serpentine hand-snapped arrowhead and turquoise, coral and shell heishi beaded offering on its back. Its eyes are made from pitch, or tar, marking this piece as one of Edna’s earliest pieces, ⅞ x 1 ½ x 4 inches