North America | Arizona
Katsina doll
Arizona
Angak’Tsina – Long Hair Katsina doll
Hopi
Circa 1900 or earlier
Carved wood (cottonwood), pigments, feathers
Height: 13 cm – 5 ¼ in.
Provenance
Galerie Flak, Paris before 2005
Collection Jean-Louis Reignier, Paris
By family descent until 2026
Angaktsina Flat-type Katsina Doll 13 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 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 Barton Wright noted in "Kachina Spirit" (2003), Angak'Tsina is one of the most widely distributed Katsinam. It is found at Zuni, Laguna, Acoma, Santa Ana, San Felipe, and Jemez pueblos. When this spirit comes, he brings a soft gentle rain that is good for the crops. His song is very melodic. His loose hair is perceived as representing falling rain.
Flat-type Katsinam (Püch Tihu) like the present example are among the earliest known styles of carved figures among the Hopi. Flat and carved from a single piece of wood, the arms remain an integral part of the torso and the legs are not depicted. While carving canons for Katsina figures became increasingly standardized toward the end of the 19th century—featuring separated lower limbs and three-dimensional forearms—the Hopi and Zuni peoples continued to carve Püch Tihu in later years. These were traditionally reserved for very young children, hence their name: 'Cradle Katsinam'."
As Barton Wright noted in "Kachina Spirit" (2003), Angak'Tsina is one of the most widely distributed Katsinam. It is found at Zuni, Laguna, Acoma, Santa Ana, San Felipe, and Jemez pueblos. When this spirit comes, he brings a soft gentle rain that is good for the crops. His song is very melodic. His loose hair is perceived as representing falling rain.
Flat-type Katsinam (Püch Tihu) like the present example are among the earliest known styles of carved figures among the Hopi. Flat and carved from a single piece of wood, the arms remain an integral part of the torso and the legs are not depicted. While carving canons for Katsina figures became increasingly standardized toward the end of the 19th century—featuring separated lower limbs and three-dimensional forearms—the Hopi and Zuni peoples continued to carve Püch Tihu in later years. These were traditionally reserved for very young children, hence their name: 'Cradle Katsinam'."
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