Description

This is a Zuni fetish bear made of serpentine stone and turquoise made by Tom Hays. Tom is a Western Cherokee artist. He and his family lived near Zuni for around 17 years; while living there he learned to carve from a local Zuni fetish carver. Fetishs are stone animal carvings that are made by the talented artisans of Zuni Pueblo. In the Zuni culture, the fetish carvings represent the animal spirit thought to reside in the stone. Initially fetishes were likely found stones that had the rudimentary shape of an animal. Arrowheads were placed on the stones with a prayer that the hunter's arrow would find its mark and in gratitude for the animal giving its life for the sustenance of the hunter and his family.