Faye Quandelacy carved this family of five corn maidens from a lovely piece of chrysocolla. There is a large maiden and small maiden on each side, with one large maiden on the side. They all have engraved and blacked eyes and mouths, and detailed hair.
One side has a large maiden with a coral dot at her neck, and a smaller maiden with a turquoise dot at her neck. the long vertical lines could be corn silk or corn leaves.
The other side also has a larger and smaller maiden. The taller maiden has a turquoise dot at her neck, and the smaller one has a lapis dot. They each have shawls on, and the larger maiden has two engraved dragonflies.
There is a tall maiden on one side. She has a coral dot at her neck, and four stars on the shawl. It feels very good in the hand!
Size: 2.25" H x 2" L x 1" W
Corn maidens represent everything good about being a woman: strong, kind, compassionate, nurturing, and powerful. There are many Indigenous stories about how corn was brought to the people at a time when there was hunger, and how a sacred, sometimes other worldly, female being brought them corn. Corn maidens come with a card detailing the meaning, the carver, and the material they are carved from.
Traditionally, Zuni carvings are symbolically fed cornmeal. Each Zuni fetish comes in a box with a descriptive card and a tiny bit of corn meal to tide them over until they reach you.