Cecil Calnimptewa
Turkey Kachina
Parker Collection
14" H
with 1 1/2" base
18 1/2" wingspan
Special Note:
This great Turkey Kachina
by Cecil Calnimptewa comes from a private collection and represents
one of the rare opportunities to own a classic by an original
Hopi master carver.
"The Turkey Kachina appears
with other birds in the kivas at night or during the Mixed Dances
of late spring. He is not a common kachina and seems to be only
from First Mesa."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist's Documentary (104)
The feather work is amazing.
Each one has been delicately hand carved and detailed. The hands
(fingers, knuckles, and nails) are always well done.
Cecil Calnimptewa is perhaps
the most well known kachina carver of today. His work has been
featured in nearly ever publication on Hopi kachina dolls and
has been the inspiration behind dozens, if not hundreds, of talented
new artists' work. Whole volumes have been dedicated to his carvings
alone.
As recorded in The Kachina
Dolls of Cecil Calnimptewa, by Theda Bassman "Cecil
Calnimptewa carved and sold his first Kachina doll when he was
18 years old. Since that time, he has become an innovator, teacher,
and master of the art."
He was born on January 1,
1950, into the village of Moencopi near Tuba City, Arizona, and
is a member of the Bamboo clan.
His work is known far and
wide, as he has received numerous awards and accolades for not
only his skills as a carve, but for the innovations in Hopi kachina
carving which he pioneered.
"His artistry is exhibited
in the fine detail of belts, sashes, and garments as well as
musculature, the motion, and active stance of the doll. He produces
very realistic figures which have sheer aesthetic beauty and
display tremendous power."
- The Kachina Dolls of
Cecil Calnimptewa
