The Hopi Approach to the Art of Kachina Doll Carving [SOLD]

THE HOPI APPROACH TO THE ART OF KACHINA DOLL CARVING

By Erik Bromberg

Publisher: Schiffer Publishing Ltd

First Edition, softcover, 1986, 96 pages, illustrated

From the Inside Cover:

This volume, packed with useful information and 122 beautiful color illustrations is an effort to answer in advance all the predictable questions a collector of Hopi Kachina dolls might ask. In fact, many clerks in Indian shops were requested to contribute questions asked them by customers.

A wide range of material is thus covered. We learn where and how the Hopis live, who the Kachina doll carvers are, who are the best of the carvers, and what Kachina doll prices are. We are told about the mystical nature of the Kachina doll and the relationship of the Kachina doll to the New Mexican Santo. Carving techniques employed by the carvers are explained. There are sections on Kachina dolls which represent stories, Kachina doll collecting, antiquarian dolls, problems with non-Hopi “copycat” carvers, the problem of the illegal feather, and a discussion of the new natural finish style. There is a very useful section by Ailene Bromberg on Kachina doll repairs. The three valuable Appendices present English designations for Hopi Kachina names, a guide to the symbolism of Kachina features, and a census of 450 living Hopi Kachina doll carvers.