Idealized Past

Idealized Past - carved onyx Zuni buffalo and turquoise chip pendant strung with turquoise chips, copper beads, and mixed agate & jasper rounds.

Approx 29.25” continuously.

When I was visiting family in Albuquerque, I picked up several bear and buffalo Zuni fetishes. This is the first used as part of the Wild West series.

The name of the piece is influenced watching Western movies with my grandfather as a child, it was a total bonding thing. He was a huge John Wayne fan, and of course so was I...little did I realize that they weren’t very accurate in their depiction of the Wild West....but an idealize fiction.

Before I designed this piece I looked at maps of the bison ranges before and after 1800...damn, I’m glad we figured out that over hunting was really stupid and destructive. So here’s to the recovery of the mighty bison.