Turquoise & Tufa
Zuni Turquoise Corn Maiden Fetish
Zuni Turquoise Corn Maiden Fetish
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Introduction: Here's the dearest little Zuni corn maiden fetish hand carved of turquoise.
Notice the precious details her creator gave her like traditional Princess Leia-style hair whorls which show that she hasn't had children, a single tiny circle of inlay coral over her heart, and black dragonflies circling her body. If you look closely, you'll see that she's been carved to indicate that she's emerging from the corn as maidens do.
Significance: Since corn is life for most Native people and corn maiden is female, the corn maiden fetish figure represents fertility and feminine energy. She also signifies loving care as Zuni women are the ones who tend to the venerated corn plants.
The dragonflies on her body are harbingers of the coming rain to help grow the corn.
How wonderful it is to have this beautiful little token reminding women of their critical importance in a world that can often seem unwilling to extend appreciation. She'd make a lovely gift for any woman in your life.
Dimensions: Corn Maiden measures 1 1/4" tall x 5/8" wide. She's 1/2" deep and signed on the bottom in etched initials that are difficult to make out - they might be "SP" or "MP". She looks much like the maidens carved by the Quandelacy family.
Provenance: She comes from the collection of a beautiful woman who grew up in Germany during World War II. Post war, she moved to the United States and became a model in New York City. She eventually married, left her modeling career, and moved to El Paso with her husband. In El Paso, she first experienced the charm of Native American art and jewelry.
Many years later, she attended her first of several celebrated Native American art field trips hosted by Martha Struever. During this time, she expanded her collection of Native American art and jewelry. Her collection wasn't vast, but it was extremely meaningful to her.
She never had children, but she collected quite a few corn maiden fetish figures showing her appreciation of the divine feminine.
After a long and full life, this dear woman recently passed away. She knew that her collection which she lovingly called her "treasures" was to be handled by Turquoise & Tufa, and she expressed her wishes that these dear fetishes would bring as much joy to us as they did to her.
