North America | Arizona
Katsina doll
Arizona
Ho’ote Katsina -Messenger of the rain gods Katsina doll
Hopi
Circa 1900-1910
Carved wood (cottonwood) and pigments
Height: 19 cm – 7 ½ in.
Provenance
Ex collection Museum of the American Indian, The Heye Foundation,
Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, inv. 9/1009
Acquired from Fred Harvey in 1919
Ex collection Delacorte Gallery, New York
Ex collection Arthur Cohen & Elaine Lustig Cohen,
acquired from the above on March 15th, 1958
Ex private collection
Ex Sotheby’s New York, 14 May 2010, lot 43
Ex private collection, France
Sold
Katsina dolls (or kachina) 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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