KACHINA Wood, red clay, pigments, rope. North... Lot 20

KACHINA Wood, red clay, pigments, rope. North America, United States, New Mexico, Pueblo culture. Old patina, slight restorations to the pictorial layer, pine base added H : 44.5 cm First half of the 20th century. Provenance and geographical origin according to the owner: Taos, acquired in the 1970s. Very surprising unidentified kachina bearing a helmet mask surmounted by a double tabletta with a black background, crenellated with stairs to heaven, the upper part openwork with a cross. The helmet, hemmed with a green collar, is painted on a white background, the rectangular yellow eyes bordered with black, the face framed with green storm flashes. The body, painted in pink ochre, carries the arms along the body with protruding forearms. The kilt is black bordered at the bottom with a green zigzag pattern. The legs are separated. The body is not cylindrical, but almost flat, with a hole in the torso and a gutter in the back. The painting technique used is very unusual. The wood is coated with red clay, then painted with pigment. The presence of the cross in the tabletta is also very unusual.