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Lot Essay
A charming 19th-century (ca. 1870-1890) Hopi sculpted depiction of a Palhik/Poli Mana. This female supernatural being figures prominently in the ceremonial traditions of the ancient Hopi culture still surviving in the rugged mesa country of northeastern Arizona. Commonly referred to as the little "Corn Maiden," "Butterfly," or "Water Drinking Girl," formally she is part of the supernatural order known as the Momoyam or the Katsina Women.
As a collective the Katsinum, a body of semi-divine beings who regulate the forces of nature and life, direct their engeries toward assisting the Hopi and other pueblo people. Painted and carved representations of Katsina date from the late prehistoric period and are noted by 16th century Spanish conquistadors and chroniclers.
Stylistically, this remarkably well perserved and artistically superior carving exemplifies the finest works originating from the last quarter of the 19th century. Such objects are exceedingly rare. Comparable pieces were collected by James Stevenson in 1879, and now are in the Smithsonian Institution; by Hopi Indian trader Thomas Keam between 1885 and 1894, now in the collections of the British Museum, the Peabody Museum at Harvard, and various German institutions; and Voth 1880s, Powell 1880s, Vroman 1890s, James 1890s, Dorsey 1900, and Culin 1903.
Both technically and compositionally the work is masterful and authentic. The cottonwood body and tableta of the figure are washed in a white kaoline clay gesso over which secondary earth and vegetable pigments have been added. The bluing is derived from cake indigo. Typical of carvings from this period, the figure's head and tableta comprise approximately 40 to 50 percent of its overall mass. The fluid limbs suggest articulation yet neither skeletal structure nor realistic anatomical proportion is suggested. The slightly bent knees convey the impression of a walking or squatting posture. The arms are not separated from the trunk of the body but are differentiated through shallow relief. Their mass is further defined by the use of black outlines which distinguish the body from the arms. Hands and elbows are bent toward the stomach in a cradling movement. Red vertical striping extends from the shoulders and neck to just below the knees. The feet are rudimentary circular or oblong blocks.
The pubis of the nude female form is exaggerated and as with other bodily features is intended to depict that of a young maiden or adolescent.
Dr. Edwin Wade Museum of Northern Arizona
This lot is accompanied with pigment testing done by Dale Kronkright the Senior Conservator at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM.
This lot is also accompanied by a copy of a letter from Barton Wright to the consignor concerning the icongraphy of the doll.
As a collective the Katsinum, a body of semi-divine beings who regulate the forces of nature and life, direct their engeries toward assisting the Hopi and other pueblo people. Painted and carved representations of Katsina date from the late prehistoric period and are noted by 16th century Spanish conquistadors and chroniclers.
Stylistically, this remarkably well perserved and artistically superior carving exemplifies the finest works originating from the last quarter of the 19th century. Such objects are exceedingly rare. Comparable pieces were collected by James Stevenson in 1879, and now are in the Smithsonian Institution; by Hopi Indian trader Thomas Keam between 1885 and 1894, now in the collections of the British Museum, the Peabody Museum at Harvard, and various German institutions; and Voth 1880s, Powell 1880s, Vroman 1890s, James 1890s, Dorsey 1900, and Culin 1903.
Both technically and compositionally the work is masterful and authentic. The cottonwood body and tableta of the figure are washed in a white kaoline clay gesso over which secondary earth and vegetable pigments have been added. The bluing is derived from cake indigo. Typical of carvings from this period, the figure's head and tableta comprise approximately 40 to 50 percent of its overall mass. The fluid limbs suggest articulation yet neither skeletal structure nor realistic anatomical proportion is suggested. The slightly bent knees convey the impression of a walking or squatting posture. The arms are not separated from the trunk of the body but are differentiated through shallow relief. Their mass is further defined by the use of black outlines which distinguish the body from the arms. Hands and elbows are bent toward the stomach in a cradling movement. Red vertical striping extends from the shoulders and neck to just below the knees. The feet are rudimentary circular or oblong blocks.
The pubis of the nude female form is exaggerated and as with other bodily features is intended to depict that of a young maiden or adolescent.
Dr. Edwin Wade Museum of Northern Arizona
This lot is accompanied with pigment testing done by Dale Kronkright the Senior Conservator at the Museum of International Folk Art, Santa Fe, NM.
This lot is also accompanied by a copy of a letter from Barton Wright to the consignor concerning the icongraphy of the doll.