Hopi Kachinas For Sale

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Hopi Kachinas for Sale

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Hopi Kachinas (Museum Quality) for Sale

Hopi Kachinas: Information from the book "Hopi Kachinas" by Barton Wright

Kachina dolls are made from the thoroughly dried and seasoned root of the cotton wood tree. When the carver is ready to begin he selects a suitable length of wood and cuts it with a hand saw to the proper length. He also outlines the basic torso and makes cuts at the neck, below the arms, and at the base of the kilt with a hand saw. He then switches to a butcher knife and mallet to roughly shape the contours of the head, the ruff above the neck, and the body and legs. For the more difficult, closed-in-areas, a selection of chisels and rasps is used. To complete the intricate carving of details he uses worn down pocket knives or similar tools. Then the entire doll is sanded to a smooth finish.

The doll is then painted with a coating of thick, creamy clay, sealing the pores in the wood and giving the doll an even gray-white surface upon which to paint. The paint colors are of great importance to the carver for they indicate the direction form which the kachina comes and by association its function. It may also indicate whether it is a beneficial, a dangerous, or fearsome spirit.

Upon completion of the painting and drying, the final parts are added. Rattles, bow and arrows, crooks and other gear are worked from wood and placed in the hand or upon the heads of the dolls. Kachina makers are often both religious and commericial carvers as the dolls are suitable for either purpose.

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