White Marble Maidens by Jeff Shetima

A show stopper carved from one piece of white marble by Jeff Shetima - signed on the bottom & dated 11.30.2002. We picked up this carving on a buying trip in Zuni around 2015 at the Turquoise Village in Zuni. The sculpture features a standing Zuni mother holding a jar of corn cobs - made from apple coral, serpentine, gold-lip & mother-of-pearl with her daughter carved kneeling at her feet working the corn in a metate/hollowed out stone with a mano. Both women have jet inlaid eyes, wear turquoise dot earrings and multi dot turquoise squash blossom necklaces. There are three turquoise floral style 'clasps' on the right side of their mata/skirt as well as smaller versions on the clasps of their moccasins. This carving we were told won an award at the San Diego Museum of Man(though there is no ribbon). The mother wears a small shawl with incised lines around the edges with an incised flower at the center - both are inlaid with jet and from the back side, you can see the mother is standing on top of the village. Artist: Jeff Shetima (signed) Size: Including Base: 3-5/8 in. long x 2-5/8 in. wide x 7-1/2 in. tall #56394