Our story begins at the Zuni Pueblo, along a tributary of the Little Colorado River in western New Mexico. The Zuni People refer to themselves as A:shiwi and are believed to be among the children of the Ancient Pueblo Peoples of the American Southwest. However, their language is unique, and classified as an “isolate.” It is unrelated to any other American Indian language. The Zuni have been described as good-natured and industrious. Their artistry and craftsmanship includes pottery produced with ancient methods and patterns, and sturdy woven textiles in a vast array of designs. Effie was born to the Zuni Pueblo in 1928, about 50 years after silversmithing was introduced by the nearby Navajo. The basic techniques shared developed into unique Zuni styles including masterful stone inlay and the popular needlepoint turquoise.
Effie married Juan Calavaza and they raised three daughters. In the mid 1950’s Effie began learning the craft of silverwork from her husband. Each piece they created was stamped with JUAN C. ZUNI. After his death in 1970, she changed the family hallmark to EFFIE C. ZUNI. As unique as the Zuni language, Effie’s sand cast silverwork features set stones, most usually turquoise and red coral, circled by a round headed snake with inlay eyes.
As the popularity of her artistry grew, imitations soon followed. But Effie is a formidable Zuni woman, who would not allow her family name to be disparaged by cheap imports. She pressed her case for full copyright protection all the way to the US Supreme Court and won. Effie is a proliferate artist with numerous pieces available on line and in galleries. In recent years there have been several rumors of her passing, perhaps in an effort to increase the value of her work. However, Effie is in her early 80’s and continues to create with her three daughters. As Effie shared her husband’s name stamp, their work also shares their Mother’s hallmark. Joy Bloxham, owner of Cherokee Creations allowed me to photograph these examples of Effie’s work from her inventory and personal collection. She has compared pieces created by Effie’s daughters, and commented they could only be distinguished by a small variation in the shape of the snake head. The pieces examined had a slight triangular shaped head, more like a viper snake.
I learned of this talented Zuni woman earlier this year, and wondered why she would include a snake so prominently in her pieces. The land of the Zuni Pueblo is also home to numerous snakes, including poisonous rattlesnakes, and the beneficial king, corn, and gopher snakes. The snake is an important part of Zuni culture. It symbolizes healing, fertility, and the cycles of life. It can be depicted as a lightning bolt and is associated with rain. The snake is protector of all water sources, which support life in the arid southwest of the US.
Traditionally, the snake was only rarely included on jewelry. Any likeness of this powerful animal was to be respected and well cared for. The snake has since become a popular component for commercially produced Zuni pieces. Effie Calavaza’s Silver Snakes are well known, worldwide.
