Edward S. Curtis
(1868 - 1952)
The Piki Maker - Walpi, 1906
platinum print
Signed, in black ink at Lower Right on print recto: Curtis
Copyright blind stamp, at lower left on print recto: COPYRIGHTED 1906 BY E.S. CURTIS
In negative at lower left on print recto: 30-06 (partial)

Negative Date: 1906
Print Date: 1906
Walpi, Southwest

A classic Curtis photograph of a Hopi woman making traditional flat bread (“Piki”). Piki is cornbread baked in colored sheets of paper-like thinness. The batter is spread on the baking-stone with the bare hand, and the quickly baked sheet is folded and laid on the basket at the baker’s left. Piki was a staple of the Hopi diet. It is estimated that as few as 1 in 500 Curtis prints are platinum, making this vintage platinum print all the more desirable and rare. This print was created by hand in Curtis' Seattle studio.
16 3/8 x 12 in. (41.59 x 30.48 cm.)
Edward Curtis Studio
Private Collection(s)
The Christopher G. Cardozo Collection, 2005

Publication History - Image:
The North American Indian (1907-1930), Portfolio 12, Plate #432
Native Nations, Bulfinch Press, 1993, Page 117
Sacred Legacy: Edward S. Curtis and the North American Indian, Simon & Schuster, 2000, Page 86
Edward S. Curtis: The Women, Bulfinch Press, 2005, Page 9, 88
Edward S. Curtis One Hundred Masterworks, Delmonico Books/Prestel Publishing, 2015, Page 89

This print is in excellent condition overall. A formal, detailed condition report is available upon request.

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