Vintage Zuni Antler Fetish Set Bear And Owl

These two vintage Zuni fetishes are especially adorable. Hand carved of antler and inlaid with turquoise, are two dear forest friends: Hartwell the standing bear and Alaric the owl. 

Symbolism: Befriending these two is good for the soul. Mighty Hartwell is cute as can be, but he's also an emblem of courage, strength, and healing both emotional and physical. Quiet and more reserved, Alaric has piercing turquoise eyes that enable him to see despite the darkness. He bestows the wisdom and patience to see what others cannot. 

Together, these powerful forest friend fetishes represent many attributes we need to carry us through life. 

Unfortunately, their Zuni makers are unknown because they're unsigned. Hartwell the bear looks similar to 1990's fetishes by Gabe Sice.

Dimensions: Hartwell stands a tall and proud 3 1/2" x 1 1/4" wide, and he's about 1" fat. 

Alaric, as you might expect, is much smaller at 1 5/8" tall x 3/4" wide.

Provenance: They come 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.

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.