EDWARD S. CURTIS

Details
EDWARD S. CURTIS

The Piki Maker, Hopi

Orotone. 1904. Signed on the image. 10 x 8in. Home of the Curtis Indians and descriptive text paper labels affixed to the reverse of the original Curtis Seattle studio frame.
Literature
The North American Indian 1907-30, Portfolio 12, pl. 432; Native Nations, p. 117; Visions of a Vanishing Race, p. 221.

Lot Essay

The legend reads: "The principal food of the Hopi is corn. This the women prepare in many ways, the most important being a wafer like bread called piki, which is made from a thick batter spread quickly with the hands upon a hot stone. This picture shows the Hopi woman at a large baking stone, which is a large hot slab of soapstone with a small fire beneath it".