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Kachina doll
Arizona
Mahu Katsina – Cicada Kachina
Hopi
Circa 1900
Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments and feathers
Height: 25.5 cm – 10 in.
Provenance:
Ex collection Galerie Flak, Paris avant 2003
Ex collection Maurice Solomon, New York, acquired from the above
Ex Sotheby’s New York, 22 Nov. 2021, A Passion For Collecting: Property From The Estate Of Maurice Solomon, New York, lot 94
Ex private collection, New York, acquired above
Publication
Esprit Kachina, Barton Wright, Ed. Enfance de l’Art, 2003, p. 58
Sold
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.
As André Breton used to say about kachina dolls:
"Is this not poetry as we continue to hear it?” (André Breton, Le Littéraire, 1946)
This doll is an early example of Mahu - Cicada Kachina. The cicada is a harbinger of a warm spring. As Barton Wright noted about this doll (Kachina Spirit, 2003 page 58), "this kachina’s face has become more elaborate through time and today has colored bands above the eyes and bottom of the cheeks. Superficially, this looks like a Koshari with the down turned eyes and striped horns, but these horns are of different colors. In addition, the Koshari never has a beak nor feather ears or a colored face as this one shows."
As André Breton used to say about kachina dolls:
"Is this not poetry as we continue to hear it?” (André Breton, Le Littéraire, 1946)
This doll is an early example of Mahu - Cicada Kachina. The cicada is a harbinger of a warm spring. As Barton Wright noted about this doll (Kachina Spirit, 2003 page 58), "this kachina’s face has become more elaborate through time and today has colored bands above the eyes and bottom of the cheeks. Superficially, this looks like a Koshari with the down turned eyes and striped horns, but these horns are of different colors. In addition, the Koshari never has a beak nor feather ears or a colored face as this one shows."
Publication
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