Zuni Carved Black Stone Bear Fetish with Turquoise Offering Bundle

A hand-carved bear fetish worked from dark, mottled stone with natural white inclusions and a polished-to-matte finish. The muzzle, ears, and legs are defined with confident planar cuts, and a small inset blue turquoise dot marks the eye. Across the back sits an offering bundle — a slab of turquoise bound to the body with wrapped sinew, in the traditional manner of a Zuni fetish carrying a prayer offering. The stone shows the maker's use of natural matrix and coloration as part of the finished form.

The bear is among the most significant of the Zuni directional fetishes, associated with the West and with strength and healing. Fetishes of this scale were carried, kept in fetish jars, or held for personal protection. At 17.9 grams for a piece just under 1½" long, the density is consistent with picasso marble (also called picasso stone or travertine marble) — the dark, heavily mottled calcite-based material favored by generations of Zuni carvers for its weight, workability, and dramatic veining. The white matrix patches and deep charcoal ground are characteristic of that material.

CONDITION

Very Good with no remarkable damage. The turquoise offering bundle and sinew wrap are secure. Natural stone inclusions and matrix are integral to the material, not flaws.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• 1" H × 1 6/16" W × 5/8" D
• 17.9 grams
• Materials: Carved stone (consistent with picasso marble), turquoise, sinew
• Unmarked
• US Quarter Shown for Scale — Not Included