Hopi Pueblo Sipikne, Warrior God Katsina Doll by Otto Pentewa [SOLD]

This is an extraordinary Sipikne katsina doll in techniques of carving, painting, and accoutrements.  The Hopi Pueblo kachina doll was carved in a slightly right-leaning and forward-leaning position.  Such a position removes the sterile straight-up appearance and replaces it with a more human-like movement.  The positioning of the arms and hands in a more normal stance is an improvement over the standard method of placing both hands in the same position at the waist.  The elaborate arrangement of feathers around the neck is striking, and the placement of long strips of yucca leaf in each hand is naturally looking and appealing.

Paints and pigments were beautifully applied in a design that is simple and appealing.  The white appears to be kaolin, the turquoise to be of a mineral source, and the brighter colors to be commercial. The torso is painted in a beautiful dark burgundy color.

The clues we have used to attribute this carving to Otto Pentewa are three items:  the string bundle on the head is like that on a previous Pentewa doll we had, the shape of the feet are like those we have seen on previous Pentewa dolls, and the yucca leaves are positioned like those in a previous Penewa Sipikne carving.  If only it had the pumpkin flower painted on the kilt, for which he is known to have done on many, but not all, of his carvings, the attribution would be without question.

Otto Pentewa (1889-1961) and Wilson Tawaquaptewa (1873-1960) were the first Hopi katsina carvers to have dolls attributed to them by name. Both carvers became famous in the 1920s-1930s and each had a very distinctive style. Collectors, with little difficulty, are able to identify the unsigned carvings of these two individuals.

There is an excellent article entitled "The Katsina Carvings of Otto Pentewa," by Barry Walsh in American Indian Art Magazine, Summer 2001. I strongly recommend it to anyone interested in works by Pentewa. 

Sipikne, or Zuni Warrior God, is an import from Zuni to Hopi. The Sipikne act as warriors and they surround the more sacred katsinas as a small but ferocious army of fearsome creatures. They dance in a very active manner and raise their knees higher than the usual dancers. The dance is so demanding, that only young men perform this katsina's function.

Condition: very good condition with minor paint abrasions

Provenance: this Hopi Pueblo Sipikne, Warrior God Katsina Doll by Otto Pentewa is from the extensive collection of a gentleman from California

Recommended Reading: Hopi Katsina - 1,600 Artist Biographies by Gregory Schaaf