Stacked Carved Turquoise Animal Fetish Earrings Zuni Navajo Johnny Sheyka, Native America Jewelry

Sorry, this item has sold.

The authenticity certificate on these earrings show that they were purchased in 1991, and they later were appraised in 1993 for $595. They were made by Johnny Sheyka, who according to John Kennedy’s book, A Good Trade: Three Generations of Life and Trading Around the Indian Capital Gallup, New Mexico, was the "surrogate son" of Frank Turpen. Frank and brother Tobe were each owners of Gallup trading posts--now part of Gallup's famed history--working directly with some of the most talented and highly collected Native American silversmiths and artists. Sheyka was Zuni and Navajo, and according to the book, instrumental in teaching Frank Turpen's sons how to carve fetishes. These were the days when the demand for Native American jewelry was exploding faster than supply could keep up, and there were many practices then that are not even legal today, including having non-Natives make jewelry labeled as Native made. The sad thing is that we often don't know that we are buying non-Native-made jewelry, as so much lacks a hallmark or other identifying attributions. Fortunately, we have the authenticity certificate on these earrings as well as the quality craftmanship of the 22 animals--11 stacked on each--comprising these earrings. The animals are stacked just right so that each one fits almost like a puzzle over the next. We can see a bird, tortoise, badgers, wolves, frog, and others. Each animal is carved from natural turquoise that has been polished, and the eyes are black dots. It appears that the animals are in the same sequence on each earring. I can tell that one animal has a truncated tail because on one earring it is shorter than the other. The tail may have broken off while being made, as it smoothed off, indicating it did not break after it was sold. Each stack is finished off with a cone attached to a small sterling silver dot post. If you can imagine the work that went into each one of these small fetishes, created by a Native American carver masterful enough to train others, then you can understand why they appraised for quite a high price almost 30 years ago. Not to mention, one just can no longer find stacked fetish earrings, and especially none made of turquoise.

Each earring measures 3-1/4" long and the longest fetish on each is a little over 1" wide. They weigh 10g each or 20g combined. The silver pins or rods on which each is stacked are no longer exactly straight yet the earrings still hang well. In good condition with no major breaks in the fetishes.

One-of-a-kind heirloom earrings.

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Please convo with questions, or call (505) 369-6865. Will return your call as soon as possible.

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For More Native American Earrings: http://bit.ly/2FyZ8wy
Native American Rings: http://bit.ly/2HQXwyY
Native Bracelets and Watches: https://bit.ly/2NpeypL
Native Necklaces, Pendants, and Pins: http://bit.ly/2ESs4Tf
Native Belts and Bolos: http://bit.ly/2oz2XKp
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