Edna Leki (c. 1924 - 2003)
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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. |
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Edna
Leki (Zuni)
Bear Fetish
Ricolite (serpentine from SW New Mexico)
1975-1980
1-3/4" x 2-1/2"
KMA 2006.15.01 |
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Links:
http://www.zunifetishexchange.com/EdnaLeki.htm
http://www.sedonawolf.com/Fetish/fetishbowl.htm
http://www.andrewspp.com/index.cfm?area=artistdetails&artistUUID=65D30A73-0FB0
4379-BFE2-A284D356E0EF
http://www.turquoisevillage.com/f1112.html
http://www.andrewspueblopottery.com/index.cfm?Area=ItemDetails&ItemUUID=994A3E36-9EED-4F95-BBEB-618659884684 |
Sources:
Bell, Barbara. Zuni, The Art and the People v. 2. Grants, N.Mex.:
Squaw Bell Traders, 1975, p. 34-35.
Finkelstein, Harold. Zuni Fetish Carvings. Decatur, Ga.: South West
Connection, 1994, p. 9, 19.
McManis, Kent. A Guide to Zuni Fetishes and Carvings. Tucson, Ariz.:
Treasure Chest Books, 1995,. P. 34.
McManis, Kent and Laurie. Zuni Fetish Carvers of the 1970s: A Bridge
from Past to Present. Santa: The Wheelwright Museum of the American
Indian, 2006, p. 22-25, 36, 61-65.
McManis, Kent. Zuni Fetish Carvers: The Mid-Century Masters. Santa
Fe: The Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian, 2003, p. 19.
McManis, Kent. Zuni Fetishes and Carvings, one-volume, expanded edition.
Tucson: Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2004, p. 76, 78. |

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