Hopi Second Mesa Coiled Plaque with Nuvak’chin Mana Katsina [SOLD]

This Hopi Pueblo Second Mesa coiled basket is a shallow bowl rather than a flat plaque.  The katsina image is that of Nuvak’chin Mana, the Snow Maiden.  Her eyes are a pair of black horizontal lines, above which is a triangle of black dots.  There is a pair of black lines on her cheeks which were executed with imbrication.  She wears the white manta with red edging patterns.  Her hair is tied up in traditional Hopi fashion.  Coiling material is yucca in various stages of dyed and undyed.  There is a hook on the back by which to hang the plaque.

The Snow Maiden’s function is the same as the Kachin Mana in the Niman Ceremony.  Additionally, she is a prayer offering for the coming cold weather—the hope that snow may fall and fill the ground with moisture for the coming year.  She may appear occasionally along with the Kachin Mana in the Niman Ceremony [Wright, 1973:213]

Condition: excellent condition

Provenance: this Hopi Second Mesa Coiled Plaque with Nuvak'chin Mana Katsina is from the collection of a gentleman from Santa Fe

Reference: Wright, Barton. Kachinas: a Hopi Artist’s Documentary

Relative Links: Southwest Indian Basketry, Hopi Pueblo, Hopituh Shi-nu-mu