Fish Charm (Wai-ka-shi-ta)
Object Label
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.
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
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Fish Charm (Wai-ka-shi-ta)
Date
19th century
Medium
Shell, turquoise, resin
Classification
Dimensions
1/4 × 2 3/4 × 11/16 in. (0.6 × 7 cm)
Credit Line
Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund
Accession Number
03.325.3407
Rights
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.
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