Monongya (Lizard) Katsina [SOLD]

“The Lizard Kachina is one of the Fighting Kachinas, a group that furnishes individuals to chastise the clowns for their un-Hopi behavior. He is presumed to represent a particular species of Lizard, the Crotophytus. This particular lizard is a brilliant turquoise color and very fast in movement.”
(Barton Wright).

This carving appears to be from the 1940s based on carving style and paint. His mask features two lizards, face-to-face, at the area of the forehead. They are a little faint and may not be discernable in the photograph. There are colorful painted dots on the head of the mask. The two wooden anchors on the head that are used for displaying feathers are tied on with string—another indication of earlier carvings.

The carving is in excellent condition. Some of the paint is marred and scratched, but that is to be expected in a carving of this age.