For many people, Leekya Deyuse (commonly known as Leekya) is the first, last and only word in historic Zuni fetish carving. Many contemporary carvers exhibit amazing artistry and technical proficiency, but it cannot be denied that Leekya took the Zuni art of stonecarving to a place it had never seen before, turning it from a craft into a true art form. By the time he died in 1966, his work was universally acknowledged as the finest and most distinct ever made at the Pueblo. Today, collectors and museums actively seek out his work, which is both rare and valuable.
There was a real paucity of information in the literature about him until 2018, when in conjunction with a show at the Albuquerque Museum, Deb Slaney published her book LEEKYA: MASTER CARVER OF ZUNI PUEBLO. It is the finest work done to date on him (and some of his compatriots and descendants) and is a must-have for anyone serious about Southwest Indian arts. (To obtain a copy of the book, contact the Albuquerque Museum directly.) In celebration of the book and the artist, we are pleased to show some of his carvings, and even more pleased to share some of our knowledge about the man and his art. (All of the items pictured are from our Turkey Mountain Traders inventory and are available for purchase. Please contact us for more details 480-423-8777.)
First off, his career as a carver started in the mid-1920s. The necklace below is listed in the C. G. Wallace Collection catalog as lot #1015, carved in 1928. It is hardly the work of a newcomer to the art, as you can see.
The form most commonly associated with Leekya is the bear, and he had a very specific way of carving the ears that differentiates his work from imitators. In the words of Deb Slaney, "Tom and Deborah Begner of Turkey Mountain Traders noticed in the 1990s that Leekya's bears' right ears were often carved vertically while the left ears were angled, suggesting a patter to Leekya's carving method; that is, which hand holds the animal and which hand carves the details." This observation was confirmed by Leekya's son Freddie. Since the world is full of bears that kind of look like Leekya pieces, it is an excellent way to tell a fake from the real article.
His animals often have smiling heads tilted to one side, because he thought that smiling animals would sell better. These small bears have slight smiles and heads cocked slightly to the side. The white bear is exactly 1 inch long and the turquoise bear is 3/4" long--quite small for standalone Leekya carvings.
And here is another bear, this one carved in profile and set into a silver ring. Talk about charming--the smile on this one is easily seen.
Leekya's favorite carving material, even more than turquoise, was Zuni rock, a tan-brown type of mudstone. We don't have any of those pieces in inventory right now, unfortunately, but we have this marvelous horse carved from red abalone shell. Note how it is carved to highlight the red on one side only.
Often, when he was carving something to be set in silver, either in jewelry or on a flat surface like a box lid, he would incorporate a pedestal base so that the carving could be more easily set. Here are two bracelets with turquoise frogs that show this type of carving and setting (he was not a silversmith, and someone else always did the settings.)
And here is an example where he carved a very large fetish (a "bearskin rug" carving, one of two known) which was then set on a large silver box. This carving was purportedly done in 1955, which is considered to be one of his most creative periods.
Again, in this carving he takes great advantage of the natural shading of the red abalone. The other known "bearskin rug", which is smaller, is in the Heard Museum and pictured on page 46 of Slaney's Leekya book referenced above.
Most of Leekya's carvings were made completely by hand, though later in life he did use an electric grinder.
If you have any questions about Leekya or any of the pieces you see here, please let us know. And by all means, make sure you have a copy of Deb Slaney's book in your library.
