Vintage Zuni Fetish Pair of Turquoise Heartline Bears

This precious pair of hand carved Zuni fetish bears goes together because each is created with an inlaid turquoise heartline from mouth to heart representing the bears' powerful spirit breath. They were also each created with a more contemporary, angular body shape.

Names: Most fetishes you find at Turquoise & Tufa have names. These two are no different and share old fashioned names despite their modern appeal. The blue lapis bear is named Beulah and the smaller jet bear is named Twila. 

Significance: Beulah and Twila are fetish carvings responsible for guarding the West as bears are one of the six Zuni directional animals. For Zuni people, their spirits provide strength, courage and healing. We can receive the same gifts from Beulah and Twila, or we can simply display them on a shelf and feel a little burst of joy every time we notice them. If you think about it, each little feeling of joy that comes from Beulah and Twila is itself a form of strength and healing.

The two bears are sold together as a pair because they've cohabitated for years now and want to continue their friendship.

Dimensions: Beulah measures 1 3/8" long x 7/8" tall. Twila measures 1 1/4" long x 5/8" tall. 

Provenance:  Even though there's no documentation on Beulah and Twila's original carvers, there's some very interesting provenance information. 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.