I was going to thrift stores with my children and bought this beautiful necklace. Could anyone tell me what I found?
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Gosh, I donât even want to make a comment on whether this is legit or not. These necklaces are so hard for me to tell if theyâre real or imported (and fetish necklaces copies are imported in large numbers), which is partly why I donât own any. It does have cute horses!
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Thank you for letting me know it is a fetish necklace. I just loved it and thought the horses were unique, working on coordinating an outfit to wear it this weekend.
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I donât know that itâs a real fetish necklaces; it could be a copy from overseas. Hopefully some other members with more knowledge about these than me will jump in.
Unfortunately I suspect itâs not Native American made. The horses look too exactly the same. But it is cute!
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Either way, I am happy to learn something new. I had never heard of the Zuni art of fetish necklaces. Very fascinating, and I can understand how the carved animals could hold spiritual significance.
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While look at some of the beautiful Zuni art, I found " 20 Zuni Fetishes and Their Meanings", interesting. Kachina House
Nothing at all amiss with enjoying the necklace as a fashion accessory. From a technical standpoint, itâs a fairly typical template carved necklace, containing horse figurines template carved from material like serpentine, sea shells, and a black material which resembles or may be âjetâ.The heishi is pen shell, likely from the Philippines (the trading Co. I worked for in the 70s imported the stuff by the 5 gallon bucket load). Looking at the style, the carved horses appear to be of likely Asian origin (Philippines) made to appeal to US buyers during the viral âfetish necklaceâ craze of the 1970âs.
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Thanks for responding. That was my gut instinct, but I donât collect fetish necklaces so I havenât really researched them.
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