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Katsina Doll
Arizona
Star Katsina Doll
Sohu Ho’ote
Hopi
Arizona, USA
Circa 1890 – 1900
Carved wood (cottonwood) and natural pigments
Height: 24.5 cm – 9 ½ in.
Provenance
Collection Lilian & Albert T. Miller, 49 Steps Gallery, Los Angeles in the 1960s
By descent in the Miller family
Collection Gary Spratt, San Francisco Bay Area, California, acquired from the above
Exhibition & Publication
« Kachinas », Otis Art Institute of Los Angeles County 13 April – 14 May 1967
Sohu Ho’ote Katsina doll 24.5 cm / Galerie Flak
Price on request
Katsina dolls (or katsinam) represent spirits or gods from the pantheon of the Pueblo peoples in the American Southwest. Given to children, Katsina dolls constituted a teaching tool allowing them to familiarize themselves with the spiritual world and perpetuating knowledge of the founding myths on which their society was based.
Ho'ote Katsina is considered particularly beneficial by the Hopi. He is said to bring good fortune to the members of the kiva and to the entire village. Despite the horns and the fearsome appearance, he is a kindly Katsina.
He is danced on all the mesas and can also be seen in the Niman ceremony. His appearances are prayers for the blooming of spring flowers. He acts as a messenger and ensures the harmony of the elements, notably the stars and the sun.
The motifs on his face depict a stylized rainbow and multicolored raindrops, symbolizing the cardinal directions from which they originate.
Ho'ote Katsina is considered particularly beneficial by the Hopi. He is said to bring good fortune to the members of the kiva and to the entire village. Despite the horns and the fearsome appearance, he is a kindly Katsina.
He is danced on all the mesas and can also be seen in the Niman ceremony. His appearances are prayers for the blooming of spring flowers. He acts as a messenger and ensures the harmony of the elements, notably the stars and the sun.
The motifs on his face depict a stylized rainbow and multicolored raindrops, symbolizing the cardinal directions from which they originate.
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