Fred Harvey Advertising Department Collection Unidentified Hopi Pueblo Katsina Doll [SOLD]

This katsina doll seems to have been based on Ho’ óte Katsina, if one makes such a judgment from the painted head and forehead design.  Beyond that, there is no similarity.  It is probably a carving made specifically for the Fred Harvey Company Advertising Department by a carver who objected to the use of an authentic katsina doll for non-Hopi purposes by a commercial business.

It is labeled on the underside of the black pedestal “No. 7A Prop Ad. Dep. Santa Fe R 80 E. Jackson, Chicago.” It is known that the Fred Harvey Company Advertising Department mounted all its katsina dolls on similar black pedestals.  The writing on this one is a reinforcement of that policy.

The horns associated with Ho’ óte Katsina have been replaced on this carving with carved and cut out ears and the mouth has been replaced with a bird’s beak.  These subtle changes probably satisfied the carver that the doll he was carving did not represent Ho’ óte and was not in violation of his beliefs regarding the use of Hopi Katsina imagery for non-Hopi purposes.

The carving and painting were quite well done, and the doll is very impressive.

Condition: very good condition with minor abrasions.  What he had in his right hand is missing.  A crack in the wood on the back of the kilt has been filled in and overpainted.  The feathers have been recently added.

Provenance: this Fred Harvey Advertising Department Collection Unidentified Hopi Pueblo Katsina Doll is from the collection of a resident of Washington

Reference: Wright, Barton. Hopi Kachinas: The Complete Guide to Collecting Kachina Dolls, Northland Publishing 1977

Relative Links: Kachina – Katsina Doll, Hopi Pueblo, Fred Harvey Company