Hopi Pueblo Susöpa Katsina, Cricket Kachina Doll [SOLD]

The Hopi Pueblo Cricket Katsina, or Susöpa, appears as a racer, although many Hopi will say that he appears only at night in the kivas.  This seems to be a difference among villages.  Usually this katsina appears with a black bandolier over his chest, represented here by a black yarn strip.  He is sometimes pictured with a tuff of small feathers in place of ears.  The ears on this carving are made from string.  Two bundles of grasses point upward from the ears but they are missing from this carving.

The kilt he wears is almost universally the folded, plaid, man’s shoulder blanket as shown in this carving.  He wears over the kilt a traditional red, black and green woven belt.  The hands are painted white.  Yarn is tied to the legs and one arm. The doll is not signed with the name of the carver.  It appears to be circa 1970s.

Condition:  very good condition

Provenance: this Hopi Pueblo Susöpa Katsina, Cricket Kachina Dollis from the collection of a family from Oklahoma which is downsizing its enormous collection of Native American art.

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

Relative Links: Katsina, Hopi Pueblo