Lowell Talashoma
Sr. (d)
Ltd. Edition
Eagle Dancer
#42 of 250
Jones Collection
14 1/2"
H with 2" base
This unique piece is part
of a limited edition of cast porcelain pieces done by Lowell
Talashoma in the late 1980s. This piece is number 42 out of 250.
It's an incredibly realistic
version of Lowell's fabulous Eagle Dancer (Kwahu) kachina. The
detail in the toro, hands, and feathers is superb.
Don't miss this chance to
add a rare and classic piece of Hopi art to your collection.
This dance is not as common
as it might have been at one time, and according to Barton Wright's
Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary, you might have
the satisfaction of occassionally seeing a performance "in
one of the night ceremonies in March or during the Powamu."
"Usually the personator
imitates the step or motion and cry of the eagle to absolute
perfection. There is evidence that this kachina was imported
into Zuni from the Hopi and is danced there in much the same
manner that it is at Hopi.
This may be why the Eagle
may appear during Pamuya on First Mesa with Zuni Kachinas."
- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi
Artist Documentary (87)
Lowell Talashoma was born
January 23, 1950 in the village of Moencopi, Arizona at the western
edge of the Hopi reservation. He spent many of his childhood
years in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a Mormon foster family.
In spite of his separation
from the Hopi influence, his talent for carving came through
as he began carving different animals from wood at the age of
6 as a Cub Scout.
Upon his return to Hopi at
about the age of 10 he began carving kachina dolls and has been
doing so now for almost 40 years. After Lowell's return to Hopi
he spent many years trying to reconcile the Mormon and Hopi religions.
He now feels the two flow together well for him. As a result,
Lowell is a very spiritual man.
Lowell states, "I try
to carve the dolls the way the Kachinas are in the dances. I
look at them the way they walk, the way they stand and how they
give the gifts."
Lowell's emphasis is on the
surface treatment of the wood, creating a multitude of various
textures that give a very realistic appearance. Lowell has also
done carvings in bronze and is an accomplished painter too
Lowell's figures portray the
human body in full action and in anotomic proportion. Lowell
is featured in most every book on Kachinas. He is featured in
Hopi Kachina Dolls and Their Carvers by Theda Bassman
on pages 150-154 and in The Art of the Hopi by Lois and
Jerry Jacka on page 79.
Lowell's work is also shown
in Erik Bromberg's Kachina Doll Carving on pages 26,27
and 30. In Helga Tiewes book, Kachina Dolls, Lowell is
featured on pages 117-119.
The Kachina is signed on the
bottom of the base: "Lowell Talashoma, Sr."
