Hopi Dance Wands, Exhibited and Published

ca 1900

painted on one side with horned katsinas, rain clouds, and ears of corn

length 21-1/4 inches x width 5 inches

Painted cottonwood plaques with handles were used in a variety of ways in Hopi ceremonialism. In certain public dance performances, women held the objects, fanning blessings toward the crowd in an alternating dipping motion... The importance is not in the form of the object but in its germination and fertility images. The crosshatched figure at the bottom of each paddle represents a germinating ear of corn. Above it floats three stacked rainclouds with vertically falling raindrops, and surmounting the topmost cloud is the two-horned fertility god. (Wade 1986: 32)

Exhibited:
Philbrook Museum, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Published:
The Arts of the North American Indian: Native Tradition in Evolution (Wade, Edwin ed. 1986: pg. 32, fig 16)

This lot is located in Cincinnati.

Ex Sherwood's Spirit of America, Santa Fe

Stands included.

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Danica Farnand

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Ms. Farnand has helmed the Native American Art department since its inception at Cowan's Auctions in 2003, developing it into one of the most respected and successful departments in the category. Throughout her career, Ms. Farnand has sold over $50 million in Native Art, and has created focused and curated auctions for 19th and 20th century Native works, Jewelry, and Modern and Contemporary Native and Indigenous Arts. A distinguished expert in her field, Ms. Farnand is a respected voice in the ongoing dialogue between Native American tribal groups and the collecting community regarding culturally significant objects, serving as a board member of the Authentic Tribal Art Dealers Association (ATADA) since 2019, and spearheading the effort to return a sacred Ahayu:da wooden figure to its rightful home in the Zuni Pueblo in New Mexico in 2020. She has also been an appraiser on Antiques Roadshow since 2016. Ms. Farnand holds an M.A. in Anthropology from the University of Cincinnati and a B.A. in Art History from John Carroll University.

Native American Art

Hopi Dance Wands, Exhibited and Published

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