Donald Ellis Gallery Named Top Booth at Frieze Masters
Artsy editors praise the exhibition for bringing a contemporary perspective to historical Native American art
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Poli Mana Katsina
Hopi
Arizona
Arizona
late 19th century
cottonwood, paint
height: 21 ½"
Inventory # S4003
Sold
Provenance
The Robert Brady Museum Foundation, Cuernavaca, Mexico
Related Examples
La Danse Kachina: Poupees Hopi et Zuni dans les Collections Surrealistes et Alentour. Paris: Les Musees de la Ville de Paris, 1998, pls. 77 and 78
The presentation of Poli Mana, or Butterfly Maiden, depends on the social occasion during which they perform and varies from one mesa to the other. When impersonated by a man, Poli Mana can accompany katsina performances and is closely related to Salako Mana. However, butterfly dances are also staged by women’s societies outside of the ceremonial cycle, in which case Poli Mana appears unmasked. In either case, the katsina’s most prominent feature remains a towering tableta. Poli Mana probably originates from tableta dances performed on the Rio Grande.
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