About the Artist

(Born 1890-1895) Largely self taught, Weahkee made inlaid jewelry, fetishes and painted in oil on both hide and canvas.

After serving in World War I, Weahkee became established as a jeweler and a fetish carver by the mid 1920's. An independent soul, he chose to work for each of the significant traders only briefly, working from his home instead of in company workshops.

Weahkee chose to fashion traditional fetishes resembling historic carvings, using locally gathered materials such as Zuni rock, antlers and basalt. His bundles contained turquoise, exotic shells and arrowheads tied on with real sinew.

The above was derived from a fascinating book Zuni Fetish Carvers The Mid-Century Masters.

On pages 45, 46 and 47 there are virtual cousin fetishes to the grinning bear carving offered on SavvyCollector.com by Weahkee