Customer Reviews

The Fetish Carvers of Zuni

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When collecting Native American fetish carvings, one important factor in determining a piece's value is the availability of the artist's name. This book provides the only source I've ever seen into the lives and work of modern Zuni carvers. It includes several family trees which show how the particular styles of carving were passed down through families. I have found this book to be a great resource and a fascinating view of these peoples lives

This book is worth the effort it usually takes to track down. It is well written, easy to read (lots of white space and illustrations). Now we just need for them to write another volume, it's been a while since this was written, and the Zuni fetish world is always evolving.

Now in a newly revised and updated edition, The Fetish Carvers Of Zuni is collaboratively written by Marian Rodee (Curator of Southwestern Ethnology, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico) and James Ostler (Pueblo of Zuni Arts and Crafts) and offers a thoughtful, fascinating, and informative look at the Zuni Native American tradition and art form of carving fetishes. 103 halftones and 94 color photographs profusely illustrate the history of fetish carving, works of art, and its practice today. Personal testimonies of modern Zuni fetish carvers as well as scholarly appraisals of this art form round out this book about a unique and fascinating Native American art form. The Fetish Carvers Of Zuni is a welcome and much appreciated contribution to Native American Studies reference collections and supplemental reading lists.

I've been collecting the carvings of the Zuni for some years now and have found this book to be the most valuable and useful source for information not only on the carvers, but on the meaning of their creations. It is an excellent introduction to the carvers, but I also find the family trees very helpful. I keep track of the carvers whose work I have in my collection and this book is the only one I've found that helps me to do that. It is also as honest a guide to this culture and the carvers as you will find. It is very difficult to keep up with the carvers and their families, but this book is as helpful a source as you will find.