Mojave Souvenir Figurine Couple with Child c. 1940s [SOLD]

Depicted here is a male holding fabric and a female holding a baby. The clay is painted with earth pigments to represent their traditional, and sacred tattoos. These traditional chin and facial  tattoos represent sacred spiritual markers that are required to ensure a person's soul was recognized by ancestors and allowed to pass safely into the afterlife.

The fabric used for the figurines' clothing is commercial cotton that the women would have obtained through trade. The man holds the same cotton fabric wrapped around his arms; rather than string, a sheet of fabric was cut into thin strips to mimic clothing assembly rather than restraint or captivity. Jewelry made from white shell heishi beads adorns their necks and ears. Both figurines have long hair crafted from horse mane to tie them back into the natural world.

The Mojave (Pipa Aha Macav) peoples crafted these unique low-fired clay dolls decorated with real horsehair, beadwork, trade cloth, and traditional gender-specific facial and body tattoos. After the train arrived in Needles, California, in 1883, women began selling wood and souvenir ceramics to the tourists who had a 40-minute layover at the train depot. The now famous Mojave (Pipa Aha Macav) clay dolls began making an appearance at that time. Generally, the dolls are painted in ochre with body and facial tattoos similar to those worn by the Mojave men and women. 

Condition: fair condition

Provenance: this Mojave Souvenir Figurine Couple with Child c. 1940s is from a client of Adobe Gallery.

Reference and Recommended Reading: Mojave Pottery, Mojave People -- The Dillingham Collection of Mojave Ceramics by Jill Leslie Furst, SAR Press, Santa Fe. 2001

TAGS: Yuman Tribes, Southwest Indian Pottery, Mojave Tribe - People of the River