Dolomite Wolf Fetish w/Pink Shell Offering - Lena Boone, Zuni - Excellent Colors

Description

In Brief
Wolf fetish carved by one of Zuni's most venerable and respected carvers
Stone is tan dolomite with chocolate-brown stripe running across the wolf, almost end to end
Offering bundle is pink mussel shell with red branch coral and blue-green turquoise nuggets
Wolf has blue turquoise eyes
Mouth, claws and fur on bushy tail are scratched into surface of stone (sgraffito technique)
Length: 2 1/4 inches; max. width: 1/2 inch; height: 3/4 inch to top of bundle
Unsigned, as is usual with most of Lena's carvings
Final photo shows this fetish next to a wolf (NFS) made by Lena's mother, Edna Leki
This is a very pretty wolf carving, as can be seen from the photos. But it's also a piece of Zuni history in the making, as are all of Lena Boone's fetishes. Why? Lena is a daughter of the late Edna Leki, who is believed to have been the first woman at Zuni Pueblo to have carved fetishes. And the reason she began to do this was to help her father, Teddy Weahkee, who had no sons to learn the family business. (He did have another daughter, though: Edna's sister, Mary, who also learned the family business, married carver David Tsikewa, and was the mother of Lavina Tsikewa Kaskalla.) Edna had three children who have excelled at carving: Dinah Gasper, Anderson Weahkee and Lena Boone. Greatness runs down and across the generations in this family--and the current "youngsters" are doing some fine work, too!
But let's consider Lena and this carving. In my opinion, Lena is the most innovative member of her family because she has been so willing to try new materials and colors. While still adhering largely to traditional Zuni fetish shapes not very different from what her mother made, she evidently fell in love with color. Many of her carvings are made of a traditional, solid color, but when she finds an interesting new material, she doesn't hesitate to try it. I believe that Lena Boone was the first carver at Zuni to work with glass, and she also finds colorful and interesting stones, such as we have here. Dolomite is commonly used for Zuni carvings, but Lena seems to seek out the pieces with interesting veining, or layers of stripes, or a broad swath of a contrasting color--such as the brown streak that distinguishes this wolf. She has amped up the colors in her fetishes' bundles, too, and her fine sense of color has led her to some unusual combinations that work really well--such as the pink mussel shell on the back of this tan wolf.
Edna Leki was a pioneer in what was then a man's occupation, and I believe that she must have been an inspiration to her daughters and to other female carvers who followed her. Sometimes the children of pioneers rest on their parents' laurels, but that has not been the case in this family, and Lena has discovered new paths as she continues on her journey. The final photo above shows Lena's wolf next to one by Edna Leki (not part of this listing). The vertical lines on the tails and the overall style of the offering bundle show a family resemblance, but there are differences. Lena has a pioneering spirit, too, and seeing these fetishes side by side shows how far she has continued along the trail blazed by her mother, while keeping the tradition on track.
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