Bidspirit auction | Peter & Dinah Gasper Zuni

Peter & Dinah Gasper Zuni Fetish Necklace - Length: Approx. 28” shortest strand Total Weight: 70g    Condition: The necklace is in good condition. Please see images for details.    Artist Bio: Fetish carving is among the oldest arts at Zuni Pueblo, and the Weahkee family is counted among its oldest carving lineages. Dinah Gasper, born in 1944, is the daughter of Edna Leki and the granddaughter of Teddy Weahkee, who worked with the trader C.G. Wallace in the early twentieth century and is remembered, with Leekya Deyuse, as one of the great Zuni carvers. Her husband, Peter Gasper (1938-2011), studied painting at the Santa Fe Indian School in the mid-1950s and turned to carving after he met Dinah. He also taught silversmithing at the Zuni Craftsmen Cooperative Association. Working together, the Gaspers became known above all for their fetish necklaces, long strands of small animals carved one at a time and strung between fine heishi, with birds, bears, fish, foxes and mountain lions moving along a single cord. They are credited as the first Zuni carvers to inlay heartlines into their animals, and with the further detail of setting small silver dots into the stone so the figures catch the light. Dinah kept carving after Peter's death, and their daughter, Debra Gasper, works in the family tradition. This multi-strand necklace is one of their carved fetish necklaces.