Hand carved of the root of the cottonwood tree by Kevin Quanimptewa of the Tobacco clan from the village of Hotvela on Third Mesa.
Only the root of the cottonwood tree is used as it grows only where there is an ample and consistent supply of water - rare around the Hopi mesas - and because of the water-seeking nature of the roots, which can grow out and down a couple hundred feet or more in search of the water table.
This particular carving represents the Frog Maiden kachina who is important because of the frog's association with the beginning of the crucial rainy season that signals the renewal of the cycle of life for all living things. There is a species of frog in the desert Southwest called the spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchii) which comes out of hibernation with the first hard summer rain. They can be heard croaking their mating call almost before the storm subsides, giving the impression they fell with the rain.
Approximately 2 inches tall and 1 1/4 inches wide.
Hand carved of the root of the cottonwood tree by Kevin Quanimptewa of the Tobacco clan from the village of Hotvela on Third Mesa.
Only the root of the cottonwood tree is used as it grows only where there is an ample and consistent supply of water - rare around the Hopi mesas - and because of the water-seeking nature of the roots, which can grow out and down a couple hundred feet or more in search of the water table.
This particular carving represents the Frog Maiden kachina who is important because of the frog's association with the beginning of the crucial rainy season that signals the renewal of the cycle of life for all living things. There is a species of frog in the desert Southwest called the spadefoot toad (Scaphiopus couchii) which comes out of hibernation with the first hard summer rain. They can be heard croaking their mating call almost before the storm subsides, giving the impression they fell with the rain.
Approximately 2 inches tall and 1 1/4 inches wide.