ca1900 NATIVE AMERICAN HOPI INDIAN COTTONWOOD KACHINA FACE PLAQUE / DISC TAWA

Description

Very Rare and somewhat perplexing, ca1900 Native American Hopi Indian, Hand Carved, Cottonwood Plaque / Disc believed to be a representation of the face of Tawa (the Sun or Sun Shield Kachina / Katsina).
This wonderful, late 19th / early 20th century hand carved and painted Cottonwood Disc measures approx. 9 1/4" diameter and is decorated on both sides with mineral pigments with a Katsina type face that resembles the Sun Shield Katsina. The Plaque is approx. 3/8” thick and the edge of the circular “face features small hole that may have originally held feathers (adding to the implication that this is a representation of Tawa).
We have owned this fascinating Artifact for some time now and every once in a while we spend a few hours trying to properly identify it. Searching through tens of thousands of images and scouring websites trying to find something – anything – that would help to definitively identify the history of this captivating “Face”. Is it a part of a mask?, a part of a tableta? Perhaps just a decorative plaque (although 2 dimensional representations of Katsina faces was not something that the Hopi made for sale to tourists). The face is not colored exactly like the modern Tawa figures but the overall look has led us to believe that it represents the Sun Shield Kachina and the holes around the edge appear to attest to the fact that the disc once had feathers surrounding the face. The decoration on the reverse is similar to that on the front however that paint on the reverse is quite worn and the features in the center are not visible.
We have decided to finally part with this intriguing “Face”, partially in the hopes that someone might be able to educate us about just what this wonderful Cottonwood Artifact is and what it was used for and partly because we feel that it should find its proper “home”.
While it is very difficult to date Southwestern Cottonwood Artifacts, we believe that this is a vintage piece approx 120+ years old and it is guaranteed to be from around the turn of the 20th century and NOT a modern work.
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Katchina Dolls (Hopi language: tithu or katsintithu) are figures carved, typically from cottonwood root, by Hopi people originally made to instruct young girls and new brides about katsinas or katsinam, the immortal beings that bring rain, control other aspects of the natural world and society,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, ca1900 Hopi Hand Carved, Cottonwood Plaque / Disc is in very good condition. The Plaque is sound and intact with no physical damage or repairs of any kind. The surface paint is worn as can be seen in the scans below – much more worn on one side than the other. As stated above, there are small holes spaced around the edge of the “Face” which we believe originally contained rather large feathers. Please see the numerous photographs below for a good representation of the form and condition of this wonderful Cottonwood Artifact.
The Cottonwood Plaque / “Face” offered here is unconditionally guaranteed original and as described above - a ca1900 Hopi carving depicting the face of a Katcina. It will be accompanied by our own Certificate of Authenticity with a statement of our unconditional return policy and lifetime guarantee that the Artifact will be deemed original, authentic and as described above by any qualified third party authentication service.
A very rare and wonderful, ca1900 Native American Hopi Indian, Hand Carved, Cottonwood Plaque / Disc believed to be a representation of the face of Tawa (the Sun or Sun Shield Kachina / Katsina) and a fantastic addition to any collection!!!
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