Zuni Fetishes and Carvings: The Compete Guide, One-Volume Expanded Edition

by Kent McManis, Robin Stancliff

These tiny, exquisite "charm stones" make up some of the most popularand most collectedNative American art in the country. Zuni Fetishes and Carvings offers the most complete guide to these appealing objects on the market today. How can fetishes help us in our daily lives? What does the bear represent? The frog? The eagle? What powers do they contain? In this deluxe, newly combined and updated volume, noted Indian trader Kent McManis explains the different types of fetishes with special emphasis on the two major traditional the protective/healing group and the hunting group. He describes the many materials that Zuni artists work with today and introduces many skilled carvers, from those who have worked in this field for many years to relative newcomers. With over 160 photos of fetishes in full color and newly updated family trees for the carvers, this volume comprises the best general reference on the subject ever available for collectors.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art

144 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2004

Reviews

[Michael Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many color pictures, types and meaning of the animals, materials, methods (wish there were more on technique), family trees of the carvers, this book has a lot in it. If the subrect interests you, this book is one of the best.

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Without a doubt the most useful book on Zuni carvings you can get. This edition is from 2004; there is a newer edition, but unless you want the most updated family trees, this one is still great. McManis treats the subject from the perspective of an art dealer who loves and respects the Zuni culture, not a faux-mystic cultural appropriator. While you do learn the important basics of Zuni mythology, most of the book is focused on the carvers and materials. It's a very refreshing and extremely useful take on a subject that's often dripping in Anglo New Age silliness. Newbies and experts alike will find plenty of use in this small book.

[Kathy Sebesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book loox at Zuni fetishes from several angles - their meanings, the stones they're made of, which stones and shapes are traditional and which developed for the tourist trade, the way the fetishes are made, and the families who make them. Each area is lavishly illustrated to show the various kinds of serpentine, for example, or turquoise, or one family's take on the wolf vs another's. It's meant to be a beginner's guide to all things fetish, and as such it succeeds admirably. If only for the pictures, it was worth every penny and every minute.