Milwaukee Public Museum. Popular science handbook series, no. 7

Kachina Dolls

Our Southwest is a veritable treasure chest of interesting things made by clever Indian craftsmen. Here and there, at Indian trading posts or Indian roadside stands along the way, among the rugs, sashes, pottery, and silver and turquoise jewelry, you will find Kachina dolls. Not too many. Up until a few years ago they were quite scarce in the trading posts, but could be bought at the various Hopi pueblos, where the best ones are made. While they were originally made for their little girls, as stated in the preface, they produced even more of them when it was discovered that tourists prized them. And like everything else, someone saw a chance to earn a dollar and started to manufacture them. Some years ago the Japanese even went so far as to make them of papier-mache. Many of them are machined and given a quick coat of paint. But you can still buy good Kachina dolls both on the mesas and at trading posts. All in all the Hopi-made dolls are good, and usually when you find one a bit worn, with a cord around its neck, you can figure that at one time it adorned a pueblo wall. The Hopi Kachina makers take great pride in their work. Their dolls are made out of cottonwood roots, which gives them that sort of rough texture that is pleasing to the eye. Some of the very old dolls have cloth and buckskin clothing to make them more realistic, but for the most part they are made entirely of wood with the exception of feathers and fluffs, as shown in the following pages. As mentioned before, there are about 250 different Kachinas, but the Hopi do not make that many different dolls. There are certain Kachinas that lend themselves better to carved dolls, and it is with these that we will deal. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 62286
Author: Hunt, W. Ben (Walter Ben)
Release Date: May 30, 2020
Format: eBook
Language: English