AVACHHOYA Katsina kachina " of speckled corn... Lot 39

AVACHHOYA Katsina kachina " of speckled corn " (Colton 122) Cottonwood (Populus Deltoides, also called American poplar), pigments, feathers. North America, United States, Arizona, Hopi. Wear and patina of age, reported base, restorations to the legs. H : 21 cm Around 1950/60 Provenance and geographical origin according to the owner: Santa Fe, B.Will Knappen Gallery, acquired in the 1990s. Kachina wearing a red background helmet mask with slit eyes on a white sky staircase with a white tubular mouth. The body is red with yellow drips on the shoulders, the arms glued to the torso. The kilt is white, the sash with side scarf in slight relief. The legs are separated and shod with black moccasins. Upon close examination of the piece, it can be seen that it has been painted in a succession of colors (Red, Yellow, Green/Blue and White), which is unusual. Harold S, Colton explains in his book that Avachhoya can be of any directional color. One can hypothesize that the piece was painted several times as needed. Avachhoya is the little brother of Hemis, the corn spirit. He appears in the regular dances as well as in the kiva dance (Pamuya) where he evokes the formation of clouds or the abundance of corn through his dance movements.