Garcia (Navajo) Piggyback Koshari Clown & Mudhead Kachina Doll, Tubac AZ 2011 View Watchlist >
- Winning Bid: $60.00
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- High Bidder: Dawn
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Lot # E641
System ID # 28556628
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Garcia (Navajo) Piggyback Koshari Clown & Mudhead Kachina Doll, Tubac AZ 2011
The Koshari is mid-kick, one leg lifted, arms thrown wide, feather bundles clutched at each hand — and he's grinning that wide, tooth-bared grin that has made the sacred clown of the Hopi ceremonial cycle one of the most immediately recognizable figures in Pueblo tradition. Riding his back is a Mudhead (Koyemsi), that rounded clay-colored head with its knob protrusions and circular eye and mouth openings pressed close behind the Koshari's fur ruff collar — two of the most important ceremonial characters in the Hopi world, caught together in a single suspended moment of dance.
Body and limbs are carved from cottonwood root or similar softwood, painted in the Koshari's signature red-and-white striped body color with black banding and accented with dry-brushed white, a surface treatment intentional to the design. Dual antenna-style horns rise from the crown, wrapped with leather streamers in tan and grey. The fur ruff at the shoulders, the leather wrappings at the joints, the painted flower-motif apron at the waist, the fringe-topped black moccasins — each costume element is distinct and properly executed. The composition is mounted on a natural wood slab with bark edge and inscribed on the underside in green marker: "Piggy-Back Clown + Mudhead / Tubac, AZ 2/28/2011 / Garcia / 423547 / Navajo."
Provenance
- Purchased Tubac, Arizona, February 28, 2011 — per base inscription
- Artist identified on base as Garcia (Navajo); 423547 is the artist's census number as inscribed
Authenticity
The double-figure piggyback format is a less common compositional choice within that tradition, and the dynamic dancing pose — both figures locked into a high-kick with real compositional balance at this scale — reflects a practiced hand. Attribution is to Garcia (Navajo), 2011.
CONDITION
Excellent with no damage noted. Paint, leather wrappings, fur, and feather elements are all intact and well-secured. The dry-brushed white over red body paint is original and intentional to the design.
DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS
- Overall: 10 3/4" H × 6" W × 5" D
- Materials: Wood, leather, fur, feathers, felt, pigment
- Base: Natural wood slab with bark edge
- Inscribed: "Piggy-Back Clown + Mudhead / Tubac, AZ 2/28/2011 / Garcia / 423547 / Navajo"
- Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included
