Fish Charm (Wai-ka-shi-ta)
Arts of the Americas
Turquoise first appears in the archeological record of the southwestern United States in the 500s C.E. The stone, which gained popularity among the Ancient Puebloan people of Chaco Canyon by the early 900s C.E., was primarily used in ceremonial and funerary offerings and for personal adornment. For the Zuni, descendants of the Ancient Puebloans, turquoise holds a place of paramount importance: a stone popular among the gods. Charms such as these represent in a physical form the power of the animal or object in whose likeness they are carved.
CULTURE
A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo)
MEDIUM
Shell, turquoise, resin
DATES
19th century
DIMENSIONS
1/4 × 2 3/4 × 11/16 in. (0.6 × 7 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Arts of the Americas
ACCESSION NUMBER
03.325.3407
CREDIT LINE
Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
This small piece of shell in the shape of a curved fish or moon phase has been inlaid with resinous material and turquoise.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is not on view
CAPTION
A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Fish Charm (Wai-ka-shi-ta), 19th century. Shell, turquoise, resin, 1/4 × 2 3/4 × 11/16 in. (0.6 × 7 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.3407. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: , 03.325.3318_03.325.3398_03.325.3407.jpg)
IMAGE
group, 03.325.3318_03.325.3398_03.325.3407.jpg.
"CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply.
Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply).
For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch.
For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright.
If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
RECORD COMPLETENESS
Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.
![Kachina Doll (Pakwen [Clown])](https://d1lfxha3ugu3d4.cloudfront.net/images/opencollection/objects/size2_sq/CUR.03.325.4606_front.jpg)
