1950s Native American Hopi / Navajo Kachina Doll

About Auction

Live

American Frontier | Ethnographic | Tribal Art...

By Artemis Gallery

Feb 25, 2021

Set Reminder 2021-02-25 10:00:00 2021-02-25 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : American Frontier | Ethnographic | Tribal Art https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/american-frontier-ethnographic-tribal-art-6449
Featuring historical examples from the American, Spanish, and Mexican frontiers, as well as Native American, Ethnographic, Tribal, Oceanic, Spanish Colonial, more. All items offered for sale have been legally acquired, are legal to sell and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back. Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

View Full Catalog (286)

• Lot Description
  Native American Indian, Southwest, Hopi or Navajo, ca. 1950s CE. A hand-carved and hand-painted wooden katsina/kachina with bird feathers atop the head and chocolate brown hairs, likely horse hair, attached below the neck that run over the torso. The visage is finely delineated with stylized eyes, tears, and symbolic motifs in hues of sky blue, cornflower blue, yellow, red, and white. To either side are appliques with red "X" motifs. Kachina figures are traditionally created as gifts for children representing kachina dancers and the supernatural katsinam beings they embody. Size: 5.75" W x 9.5" H (14.6 cm x 24.1 cm)
  
  Plaza Dances may be either Mixed Katsina Dances (Soyohim) in which dancers representing all the different types of katsinas attend, or a dance that includes only katsinas of the same type. Regardless, in addition to bringing about rain and fertility, all of the katsinas have a distinct purpose. Dances may be performed to commemorate a special event such as recovery from an illness, the welcomed return of a son from the army, or a birthday. Nevertheless, these dances maintain a religion quality for the Hopis.
  
  The Katsinam, supernatural beings who live in the high mountains of the San Francisco Peaks above traditional Hopi territory, speak to the Hopi through costumed dance and song. These dancers emerge from the round ceremonial kivas that are at the center of their communities, singly or in groups, and dance to the music of drums, rattles, and song. In imitation and representation of them are Katsina figures (katsina dolls, katsin-tihu), made of cottonwood root. Cottonwood is culturally symbolic because the cottonwood tree, once abundant in traditional Hopi lands, grows where water flows - thus, looking across a landscape, lines of cottonwood trees denote a water source in the desert. After carving, the figures are painted all over with whitewash, made from kaolin clay, and then painted in brilliant colors. Originally these were done using yucca brushes. Many of them are then decorated with other materials, like feathers, cloth, or fur. Katsina dolls are often given objects to hold which indicate their roles.
  
  Provenance: private Glorieta, New Mexico, USA collection
  
  All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
  
  A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
  
  We ship worldwide and handle all shipping in-house for your convenience.
  
  #161948

  Condition

  Losses to feathers with bending and shedding/loosening from the top. Chipping and fading of pigments. Nice preservation of hair. Cord on verso for suspension.
• Shipping Info

  • All shipping is handled in-house for your convenience. Your invoice from Artemis Gallery will include shipping calculation instructions. If in doubt, please inquire BEFORE bidding for estimated shipping costs for individual items.

• Buyer's Premium
  • 26.50 %