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A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)
A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)
A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_front.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_front.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_03.325.4647_glass_bw.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_03.325.4647_glass_bw.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail2.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail2.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_back.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_back.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail3.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail3.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail1.jpg)

A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, CUR.03.325.4652_detail1.jpg)

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Kachina Doll (Helele)

Arts of the Americas

In the southwestern United States, a supernatural being that represents a life-force or embodies a natural phenomenon such as the sun, the moon, a plant, or an animal is called a koko by the Zuni and a katsina (commonly anglicized as “kachina”) by the Hopi. Such beings have the power to control rainfall, crop growth, and fertility; to cure and protect; and to act as messengers between the gods and human beings. Carved kachina figures, also known as kachina dolls, are representations of these spirits and can have a sacred or an educational purpose. During some ceremonies, the carvings are given to community members to reward virtuous behavior, recognize a recent marriage, or teach children about religion. In the 1800s, a lively market for the carvings developed among non-Native collectors and tourists, giving rise to the elaborate art form that flourishes today.
This text refers to these objects: 03.325.4652; 04.297.5341; 04.297.5563; 04.297.5595; 2010.6.2; 2013.64.12
CULTURE A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo)
MEDIUM Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon
  • Place Made: Zuni, New Mexico, United States
    • DATES late 19th century
    DIMENSIONS 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Arts of the Americas
    ACCESSION NUMBER 03.325.4652
    CREDIT LINE Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION This kachina has a textile snake wrapped around his neck and holds a wand in his proper right hand. His headress has two "ears" with sun forms painted on them. He wears the traditional dance skirt.
    EXHIBITIONS
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
    CAPTION A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). Kachina Doll (Helele), late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
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    A:shiwi (Zuni Pueblo). <em>Kachina Doll (Helele)</em>, late 19th century. Wood, pigment, hair, fur, feathers, cotton cloth, hide, plant fiber, silk ribbon, 17 5/16 x 6 7/8 in. (44 x 17.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Museum Expedition 1903, Museum Collection Fund, 03.325.4652. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 03.325.4652_acetate_bw.jpg)

    TAGS

    Kachina Doll
    Wood, hair, feathers, pigment, fur, cloth
    Pueblo
    Southwest
    Zuni
    A:shiwi
    Native American
    toy
    doll
    snake
    feather
    boots
    beard

    TAGS

    Kachina Doll
    Wood, hair, feathers, pigment, fur, cloth
    Pueblo
    Southwest
    Zuni
    A:shiwi
    Native American
    toy
    doll
    snake
    feather
    boots
    beard

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