Abalone Kokopelli With Ant by Andres Lementino

A fantastic large spiny oyster Kokopelli playing his flute to a rather large ant - both have turquoise inlaid eyes. We are so happy to receive this imaginative carving from Andres Lementino in late June of 2025. The back side is also quite lovely - depicting iridescent outlines. Between the ant and the Kokopelli is a large turquoise arrow pointing downwards towards the earth - we think that has some kind of significance. The Kokopelli has seven turquoise strips inlaid on it to depict a necklace and clothing embellishments and the flute he plays has five turquoise dots inlaid between six serpentine strips inlaid in a zigzag style. Near the base of the Kokopelli, Andres inlaid one of his fantastic double Zuni sun faces - inlaid with bits of turquoise, apple coral, lapis, gold-lip and jet. It's of note that the eight turquoise triangles inlaid to depict the sun's rays are surrounded by gold lip strips. The Sun face is an ancient symbol in Zuni culture, representing the sacred Sun Father. The symbol's round motif depicts the Sun with a forehead split down the middle to reflect the eternal balance between sunrise and sunset. To the Zuni, the Sun face represents prosperity, happiness, peace, hope, optimism, and positive energy. This is a show stopper and we are happy to have this fine display of craftsmanship! The first images of the Kokopelli appeared on Hohokam pottery over 1000 years ago. Kokopelli is a Native American Deity, revered by many Native American groups in the Southwest. He is a symbolic figure associated with fertility, music, merrymaking and good luck. Artist: Andres Lementino (signed) Size: 5 in. wide x 2-1/4 in deep x 6 in. tall #63737