Attributed to Jimmy Koots also known as James Kootshongsie (Native American, Hopi Pueblo, 1916 to 1996) ca. mid to late 20th century CE. A fascinating kachina doll made from wood, with the characteristic stripes to represent a koshare (payakyamu) clown. The standing figure holds a baby koshare in his hands that is swaddled in a red and white checkered pattern. The baby has an identical smile and horned cap that the adult koshare wears. The larger koshare has a bulbous nose and a mischievous smile. The iconic horned headdress is decorated with cotton threads and corn husks on the tips of both. This kachina is a sacred jester or trickster spirit, and dancers dressed as koshare will often parody and mock the audience to both invoke laughter and ridicule. While humorous, the performances are meant as serious social commentaries. Size: 3" L x 2" W x 11" H (7.6 cm x 5.1 cm x 27.9 cm)

James Kootshongsie, better known as Jimmy Koots, is a famous Hopi carver, accredited with reviving the Kachina carving tradition. Koots was taken from Hotevilla Arizona at a young age and placed in a government run school. He spent five years in a climate hostile to Hopi beliefs and heritage. Once he returned to his hometown, he was once again whisked away into WWII. Returning to Arizona, he became an activist in the fight to keep oil and gas companies from strip mining the Hopi ancestral land. His carvings revived the traditional styles of Hopi Kachinas. Most of his carvings are unsigned but are distinctive and indicative of Koots’ style.

The Katsinam, supernatural beings who live in the high mountains of the San Francisco Peaks above traditional Hopi territory, speak to the Hopi through costumed dance and song. These dancers emerge from the round ceremonial kivas that are at the center of their communities, singly or in groups, and dance to the music of drums, rattles, and song. Katsina figures (katsina dolls, katsin-tihu), are made of cottonwood root to represent these supernatural beings. Cottonwood is culturally symbolic because the cottonwood tree, once abundant in traditional Hopi lands, grows where water flows - thus, looking across a landscape, lines of cottonwood trees denote a water source in the desert. After carving, the figures are painted all over with whitewash, made from kaolin clay, and then painted with other colors.

Provenance: ex-William and Jane Frazer, Aspen, Colorado, USA, acquired 1980s

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#166627

Nicks and pitting to wood. Some losses to corn husk tips. Chips to high pointed areas. Intact and very good.