"One of Cushing's [Frank Hamilton Cushing, an anthropologist who lived with the Zuni and then shared many of their stories and rituals without permission] most enduring contributions to the start of figural representation at Zuni was an illustration he made for a report to the Smithsonian's Bureau of Ethnology. He drew a reproduction of a shrine of the Bow Priests. On the top area of the Shrine was a depiction of the Zuni deity Achiyalatopa, or Knifewing. Cushing labeled this sacred being a god of war, but this figure also possessed a more complicated role as a warrior in folk tales. Knifewing had both monstrous and beneficial attributes, and was associated with animal spirits. A number of Zuni smiths told John Adair that once a Knifewing design was rendered in silver, it lost all religious significance...Horace Iule (1901-1978) is credited with being the first smith to create a silver Knifewing for decorative purposes in the late 1920s. Fellow artist Juan Dedios (1882-1944) was also known for his renderings of the Knifewing in the 1930s. This image was a breakthrough of sorts in terms of figural designs." - Paula A. Baxter