1940's Knife Wing Man pin

Circa 1940's Zuni pin. This knife wing man pin is set in solid sterling silver with genuine shells, stones and tortoise. The raw craftsmanship shown in this piece is a true reflection of this era of jewelry. Crafted by Zuni artist Teddy Weahkee. He served in World War II and then began learning silversmithing.Mostly self taught and known to be proficient in most jewelry techniques by the early 1920s. He was known to sell his work to C.G. Wallace and other traders of the period.This is a large piece, measuring 4" x 2"1/2. A true work of art.

 HANDCRAFTED PIN BY ZUNI ARTIST TEDDY WEAHKEE ( 1890-1965) Anthropologist Frank Hamilton Cushing, who lived with the Zunis from 1879-1884 described knife wing this way: "This curious god is the hero of hundreds of folklore tales, the tutelary deity of several societies of Zuni. He is represented as possessing a human form, furnished with flint knife-feathered pinions, and tail. His dress consists of the conventional terraced cap (representative of his dwelling place among the clouds). His weapons are the Great Flint-Knife of War, the Bow of the Skies (the Rainbow), and the Arrow of Lightning. His guardians or warriors are the Great Mountain Lion of the North and that of the upper regions. He was doubtless the original War God of the Zunis."