OK, OK, I know its like beating a dead horse (I hate that analogy), but as I was going through a lot of my older jewelry I don’t wear anymore, I came across this delicate fetish necklace. I purchased it early in my collecting, probably in the 70’s. I likely thought it was Zuni at that time, but now I’m thinking Navajo. Most of the fetishes are pretty basic, unlike the better carved ones in my known Zuni necklaces. The heishi strands are very thin and delicate and a few fetishes are quite nicely caved. I’ve read about Zuni vs, Navajo fetish necklaces, but there are exceptions to everything.
Hoping to learn more; Any thoughts?
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Looks like a nest of Zuni style wiener dogs. 
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I have a similar bracelet, which I will need to post here also. The fetishes seem fairly real, but not all that detailed. In my case, I did buy it at a tourist area but I paid more since I looked for the sellers that were not selling the common tourist stuff. I think things used to cost less back then (I bought mine around 2001 or so) and it’s possible that what you have here is a good quality piece, but maybe not as good as some of the collector pieces; i.e. made by an actual Indian, but not something that is of great value, or using pre-made pieces.
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Hi @Bmpdvm That’s a nice fetish necklace. I especially like the many different stones that were used in its creation. Quite the variety. I have a few of these ubiquitous fetish necklaces but haven’t posted them here. From what I’ve read, Zuni fetish necklaces are hand-carved and exhibit good detail work. So, that excludes all my necklaces, lol. Not sure about your necklace being Navajo, either. When I see fish, whales and other odd assortments in fetish necklaces, it gives me pause as to whether it’s Native American made or not. My fetish necklaces are most likely neither Zuni nor Navajo made. Just my 2 cents worth…
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Thanks Patina. I know the vast majority of these are not Zuni, and likely not even NA. I should have said “Navajo or other” as it (or the beads) are likely made elsewhere, especially with the turtle and fish. I’m going to sell it along with a lot of other lesser pieces, and want to be accurate with the information. Guess the best way is just to be vague and simplistic in the description and not mention any NA attribution😊.
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Just to add a bit of spice (or frustration) to the conversation, I googled Zuni fetish necklaces and found this:
It’s an “Award Winning Tony Luala Authentic w/ Certificate 3-Strand ZUNI FETISH NECKLACE”. It has a ribbon, a certificate and everything! So it must be authentic!!!.
It also has a lot of red flags and looks very similar to mine (sans the fish, turtle and frog!) and is going for $2100.00…
Is Has anyone ever heard of Tony Luala? There are a lot of fetish necklaces on eBay by him. Are the Zuni now churning out non-Zuni styles of fetish necklaces.
With purported documentation, no wonder there is so much confusion.
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So I know practically NOTHING about fetish necklaces (I don’t collect them at all - just not my interest although I appreciate the work involved in making them), but what I have read makes purchasing them seem like a minefield. I can view some of the online Facebook sites with my husband’s account, and when I start reading about how to tell if one is legit, my eyes glaze over. I do remember that you don’t want animals such as armadillos and elephants 
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A minefield…so true. I went through a collecting phase, some of the first NA I collected were fetishes. Fortunately I still have some pretty nice fetishes by good names (now deceased).
Anyway, thanks for weighing in, that last piece claiming to be certified Zuni just proved how much I don’t know. Is Tony Luala be Zuni? And are all the necklaces attributed to him made by him? All depends on if you believe the sellers info. and makes me see red flags!
I feel like I’ve read or heard that name somewhere, but it may have been somebody asking the same question that you did.
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Here’s a thread I just found in here that mentions his name.
What makes a Fetish necklace valuable?
I just tried to read through this, and my eyes started to glaze over again…
Yep, great memory!!! It totally makes sense but I’d like to know where saef got that info. If I get to Zuni before too long, (and if I remember🥴), I’ll ask Milfred Nahohai about the name. Or the Keshi folks should know. The info in the that thread was in 2017, and Tony Luala is still stated to be Zuni all over eBay…crazy!
You could try responding to saef in the thread, but it looks like that person hasn’t been on the forum in a very long time.
Let us know what you find out!
Agree that nontraditional animals, fish and such, are a red flag. We just can’t underestimate the amount of imports that have been in the marketplace for quite a while by now, some very skillfully made, too.
If I were selling it, without firm provenance I might say at most “Southwest style.”
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Ha…I was thinking Zuni style, but Southwest might be better!
I have to agree with y’all; the world of fetishes is indeed a minefield and I certainly lack the knowledge to identify real ones vs. fakes! I think less detail and stating that it’s Southwest style or simply provenance unknown would be appropriate. FWIW, I think it’s a pretty necklace!
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