Rare and wonderful, 1968 Native American Hopi Indian, Hand Carved, Cottonwood Root \"Wolf” (Kweo) Kachina / Katsina Doll.

This outstanding, mid 20th century hand carved and painted Cottonwood Katsina Doll measures approx. 13 1/2\" tall and is a depiction of the \"Wolk\" Katsina. The Doll wears an applied, buckskin strip skirt, hide chest straps, buckskin fringe moccasin cuffs and natural applied fur mask. The mouth of the Wolf Kachina is open and its fangs bared. The Wolf holds a rattle in its right hand and the traditional feather adorned stick in its left. It is mounted on its original cottonwood base. It is dated 1968 and signed on the bottom of the base by the Hopi Artist who created this wonderful Katsina but we can not read the signature. This Kachina / Katsina was recently deaccessioned from the collection of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana.

Whenever the Deer or Antelope kachinas dance in the plaza, another kachina is very frequently seen with them--the Wolf Kachina (Kweo). He is their side dancer, and the stick he holds in his hands is said to represent trees and bushes that he hides behind as he watches them

Hopi katsina figures / Katchina Dolls (Hopi language: tithu or katsintithu) are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people originally made to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas or katsinam, the immortal beings that bring rain, control other aspects of the natural world and society, and act as messengers between humans and the spirit world. During the 20th century, the manufacture and sale of Kachina Dolls by the Hopi were a source of income from tourists to the southwestern United States.

The design of the Dolls evolved over time. In the beginning of the 20th century, oppressive agents such as Charles Burton tried to restrict the Hopis\' religious and cultural rights. However, in 1934, due to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Hopi people got back their religious freedom, and this thus renewed their interest in kachina doll carving. The dolls began to have a slightly different look than that of the stiff dolls from earlier periods. The arms were starting to become separated from the body and the heads became slightly overturned, putting the dolls in more of an action pose.

The Late Action period (beginning about 1945) of kachina figures contains the most variations of carvings than any other period. Most dolls of this period display realistic body proportions and show movement, which are distinguishing features of this period. The regalia in this period are more detailed and in the 1960s, carvers began to attach bases to the dolls in order to appeal to the tourists who didn’t want to hang the dolls on their walls. In the 1970s the Endangered Species Act and Migratory Bird Treaty banned the selling of kachina figures that carried any migratory, wild bird feathers from birds such as eagles. As a result, the feathers of the dolls would be carved into the wood, which led to a new brand of Hopi art—the katsina sculpture.

This very rare and wonderful, 1968 Hopi Indian \"Wolf” Kachina / Katsina Doll is in very good condition and displays beautifully. The surface paint is rich and warm and well preserved with no significant wear or damage and no repairs of any kind. The Doll lacks a small piece of the hide chest straps as can be seen in the scans below and there is some wear to the fur mask. Please see the numerous photographs below for a good representation of the form and condition of this outstanding Hopi Wolk / Kweo Kachina.

The Katsina Doll offered here is unconditionally guaranteed original and as described above - a 1968 Native American Hopi Indian \"Wolf\" Kachina / Katsina Doll. It will be accompanied by our own Certificate of Authenticity with a statement of our unconditional return policy and lifetime guarantee that the Figure will be deemed original, authentic and as described above by any qualified third party authentication service.

A very rare and wonderful, 1968 Native American Hopi Indian, Hand Carved, Cottonwood Root \" Wolf” (Kweo) Kachina / Katsina Doll recently deaccessioned from the collection of the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Indiana and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!

Be sure to check out this seller’s other sales for three other Native American Hopi Indian Kachinas which are also being offered for sale this week on !!

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Notes about Shipping Charges:

The amount quoted for Shipping & Handling is calculated by and is equal to the EXACT amount charged by the Post Office plus a $1.00 \"packing fee\" - the $1.00 fee is our only compensation for the virgin packing materials we use on all of our professionally packaged boxes as well as our cost for the salaried help that does most of our packing - as I am sure you can see, we make NO profit on the Shipping charges and, in fact, our costs are usually greater than the $1.00 fee. Please contact us if there are any issues regarding the cost of shipping.