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Staley Natewa (d.) | ||
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Staley Natewa was the first carver we met in Zuni. It was our first time to visit the Pueblo, It was in early 1997, and we bought several of his pieces from Dennis Ortega of the Pueblo of Zuni Arts & Crafts Trading Post. Dennis called him to come down to meet us. I was purely star-struck which was only compounded by the added introduction of Staley's companion - Herbert Him. Stunned silly, I left Darlene to do all the talking and frankly, I am still star-struck by the amazing work produced by these two pairs of talented hands. This is among the rarer groupings of Staley carvings and it is made of his favorite carving stone Picasso marble. He has made quite a few single mountain lion carvings but this is the only double lion carving we know of and the felines are also guarding the cliff dwellings below the overhang with a ladder to gain access to the dwellings from below. There are also a lizard and a snake also integrated into the fetish mix. The Zuni fetish collecting community and the Pueblo of Zuni lost Staley much too soon in his young and prolific career as a realistic fetish carver. His smiling face and joking manner will be most missed. He is known mostly for his lizard,frog, horned toad and snake carvings. However he began creating large and elaborate carvings of animals protecting the village, carvings that he fashioned after those of his friend and mentor Herbert Him, who himself is a true master of realism, who tutored many young Zuni fetish carvers and who originated realistic Puebloan ruin scenes in his Zuni sculptures. Staley rose quickly to become extremely popular with Zuni fetish collectors. He had an eye for design, a honed skill for carving, and his patience in etching brought a fresh, contemporary style to the tradition of Zuni fetish carvings. He quickly became recognized as something special in the art of creating Zuni fetish sculptures. The raised and rounded eyes of the mountain lions are inlaid of Sleeping Beauty turquoise as are the raised and rounded eyes of the lizard and eyes of the snake are inlaid of red coral. The sculpture is signed Staley Natewa Zuni on the base of the carving. This is one of the most elaborate Staley fetish carvings on the market today and frankly nothing else anywhere measures up to the quality of this fetish sculpture. Do not let this incredible example of Zuni fetish history escape the cabinet of your Shiwi fetish carving collection.
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The Zuni Fetish Story
If you're new to Zuni fetish collecting and interested in learning more about them, we have written a short article about Zuni fetishes and what they mean to the Zuni culture. CLICK HERE to read the article on Zuni fetishes.
Zuni Fetish Meanings
We've written this article to inform Zuni fetish collectors about the specific meanings and attributes of the more traditional Zuni fetish carvings.
CLICK HERE to read the article on Zuni fetish meanings.
The Zuni LanguageIf, as a Zuni fetish collector, you haven't had the opportunity visit Zuni Pueblo but would enjoy hearing some words in the Zuni language, we hope you'll findthis article interesting and informative. CLICK HERE and turn up your volume to enjoy! The Zuni Spirits BlogIn an effort to keep our collectors informed of new arrivals, posts of interest to Zuni fetish collectors, the latest critters to visit our east Texas woods, rants, raves and rambles will be published HERE at the Zuni Spirits Blog. You may subscribe (& unsubscribe) at this link. | ||
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If you would like to read more about
the Sculpture's characteristics and attributes