North America | Arizona
Kachina doll
Arizona
An exceptional Kwahu or Palakwayo Katsina – Eagle or Hawk kachina doll
Hopi
Circa 1890
Carved wood (cottonwood) and natural pigments
Height: 9 ½ in. – 24 cm
Provenance
Ex collection Toby Herbst, Santa Fe
Kwahu Kachina doll 24 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
Kachina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, kachina dolls constituted a pedagogical tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
Birds have always played a central role in Hopi ceremonies. According to Hopi mythology, at the beginning of the world, birds gave the first men the key to certain universal mysteries, allowing them to emerge from the Underworld. Birds continue to play the role of counselors for humans, interceding for them with spirits and divinities.
Birds have always played a central role in Hopi ceremonies. According to Hopi mythology, at the beginning of the world, birds gave the first men the key to certain universal mysteries, allowing them to emerge from the Underworld. Birds continue to play the role of counselors for humans, interceding for them with spirits and divinities.
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