KATSINA, WORK OF HOPI CHIEF AND SCULPTOR WILSON... Lot 2

KATSINA, WORK OF HOPI CHIEF AND SCULPTOR WILSON TAWAQUAPTEWA (ORAIBI, 1873-1960) Hopi, Arizona Years 1940 H. 25 cm The palette of colours used, the marked presence of black dots and the style of this Kachina are characteristic of the work of Wilson Tawaquaptewa (1873-1960), an important religious chief of the village of Oraibi and a major artist in the Amerindian world in the first decades of the 20th century. While relying rigorously on traditional Kachina carving techniques, Tawaquaptewa generally mixed motifs from ancestral Hopi symbolism with elements of personal creation (combinations of shapes, patterns and colours) in his works. Provenance: Collection of Mr. A. F., Paris Hopi Indian Chief Tewaquaptewa Making Katchina Dolls. Oraibi, Arizona Burton Frasher Sr. (1888-1955), photograph dated 1932 Source: Online archive of California, Pomona Public Library - The Frasher Foto Postcard Collection