Special Value Offer: Hopi Black Ogre - Chaveyo Katsina Doll [SOLD]

Special Value Offer: The consignor has authorized a 32% price reduction from the original price of $950 to a new price of $650.

Emil Pooley (1912-1979) was a well-known carver around the Albuquerque area as he demonstrated annually at the New Mexico State Fairgrounds for years and years. After his marriage, he and his wife moved from Hotevilla Village on the Hopi Reservation, first to Winslow, AZ, then to Joseph City, AZ where they spent their remaining years. He opened a trading post in Joseph City on the old Route 66 in 1949 and continued carving katsina dolls and selling them at his post.

One of his favored carvings was that of the Nataska, the feared Ogres of the Hopi. The family of Chaveyo and his spouse, Hahai-i-Wuhti, are the Nataskas.  During the process of collecting food from Hopi homes for distribution to the Katsinas in the kivas, the Nataskas make horrible noises to scare the children. From the earliest ages, Hopi children have heard stories about how the Nataskas would abduct children and eat them, so it is no wonder that they are terrified of them. The parent or parents bargain with the Nataskas to leave the children alone and the Nataskas agree, thus the parent is the hero and the children are saved.

Condition:  Very good condition

Provenance: from the collection of a family from Oregon who have stated that the carver was Emil Pooley.  There is no signature on the doll.

Recommended Reading: Kachinas: a Hopi Artist’s Documentary by Barton Wright with paintings by Cliff Bahnimptewa