Hopi Plaque with Katsina Image by Pauline Quiyo [SOLD]

This Second Mesa coil basket was created by Hopi weaver Pauline Quiyo. It features a large Katsina image, possibly of the Hopi Salako Mana, made of colors that remain bright many years after the basket's creation. Baskets like this one often serve as currency among the Hopi people. With the exception of the black commercial dyes that are used on occasion, they are made entirely of natural plant material. Gathering these materials and treating them requires a great deal of knowledge. The yucca leaves must be collected at the right time and in the right state to allow for successful treatment. Basketry is a natural extension of a Hopi woman's traditional way of life, as her more immediate duties involve caring for her family by preparing and processing the plants that they eat. Their knowledge comes from their ancestors, and their materials come from their land. It is incredible that artworks like this can be made using little more than plants, ancestral wisdom, and human hands.

Pauline Quiyo (Quayo) is a Hopi basket maker who has been active since the 1970s. Gregory Schaaf’s American Indian Baskets 1: 1,500 Artist Biographies refers to Quiyo as a “master weaver.”  She is an Eagle Clan member.  Her preferred forms are plaques (“poota”) and bowls (“wukopotasivu”).

Condition: this Hopi Plaque with Katsina Image by Pauline Quiyo is in excellent condition

Provenance: from the large collection of Allan Nelson, an avid Native American art collector. 

Relative Links: Hopi Pueblo, Native American Baskets, Pauline Quiyo, Hopi Second Mesa Basket Maker, Katsina - Kachina Dolls

Artist Image Source: Pauline Quiyo, Hopi Second Mesa Basket Maker - page 67 of Gregory Schaaf’s American Indian Baskets 1: 1,500 Artist Biographies.  Photo by Allan Nelson.