The Development, History and Collecting of Route 66 ‘Trading Post’ Kachina Dolls
On Collecting Kachina Dolls, Part 4 (of a seven part series)
Robert Cafazzo
Two Graces, Taos
The development of Route 66 Kachina Dolls began as a way to market Kachina Dolls to visitors of the Southwest. Rather than carve legs and feet, the makers created a small ‘cone-like’ shape at the bottom of their carvings, allowing the carving to stand quite solidly. Variations of this cone shape include a notch cut at the front, rather than a completely rounded cone, as well as a cut through the bottom of the cone all the way up to the skirt/kilt (which in some way creates primitive style legs).
All are Currently Available
Currently Available
Bluebird (AS) SOLD Warrior SOLD. Crow Mother (AS) $75. Mudhead (AS) $75. Maiden (AS) SOLD. Eagle $50.
All are Currently Available
As I’ve stated before, I’m not a fan of mounting Kachina Dolls onto bases, preferring to hang them on a wall or from the ceiling beams as the Hopi do in their own homes. The cone shaped base was a clever way to integrate a base format into the design of the doll carving itself. Kachina Dolls are not ‘weebles’, you do not want them to ‘wobble’ or fall down. A well made Kachina Doll carving should be able to stand on its own.
Rock Eater $125. Warrior $75. Rain Maker SOLD Rain Maker $75.
Another aspect to the style and format of these carvings is the position of their arms and hands over their stomachs which is where the coined term(s) Belly-Ache, Stomachache or Belly-Hugger dolls comes from. However, this style format exists in not only Rte. 66 doll carvings but in early Hopi Kachina Dolls as well.
Carvings of this nature were primarily sold at the Fred Harvey Hotel shops and Trading Post shops of the Southwest, not only along Route 66 but throughout the Southwest.
The earliest Kachina dolls in the Route 66 style can be definitively traced back to the 1920’s where a simple black label stating “FROM THE HOPI VILLAGES” attached to the bottom or back of a doll indicates that this particular carving was sold at the Fred Harvey Grand Canyon Trading Post during this time frame. At some point in the late 1930's the label was changed to a red border.
Rte 66 dolls range on average in size from 1 1/4” tall to 6 1/4” in height, with 2 3/4” & 4” being the standard sizes. They are primarily painted with a white clay base and a limited color palette using powdered tempera paints. These carvings have a symmetry that in some cases are thought to have been made by turning the cottonwood on a lathe. Many of them aren’t a completely rounded form and too, there aren’t ever indications of a lathe pin mark at the bottom of the carving (at the top there is always a hole for a feather). A piece of cottonwood turned on a lathe using a sharp chisel would in most cases shatter to bits. Abbot ‘Sun’ Sakiestewa one of the best of the Rte. 66 makers stated in his brochure, “Dolls which are obviously turned on a lathe are not Hopi made.” By the way, the replicas turned on a lathe with a hardwood are stamped ‘Made in Mexico’ on the bottom of the base. Without true clarification and explanation Abbot’s statement has been often repeated and misinterpreted.
Primarily we think of three families of Kachina carvers working in the Route 66 style.
The Pooley family at the Tewa Village on First Mesa are still making Rte. 66 dolls today. Abbot Sakiestewa at the Hopi Guild Workshop on Second Mesa, usually also identifiable by a SUN rubber stamp mark on the bottom.
Along with Otto Pentewa of Third Mesa, whose Rte 66 dolls today may be the most cherished and valuable, identifiable by either a series of white dots or dashes as an added design element.
Other carvers of this style remain unidentified, although most Kachina carvers would have made dolls of this style in order to make a little bit of money.
The highly sought after carvings of Wilson Tawaquaptewa was known to carve mini carvings of dolls not quite considered kachinas but of his own design. At times he used a simplified cut cone shape with an extended flat foot for the legs of his dolls.
When I asked Gregory Schaaf, author of “Hopi Katsina, 1,600 Artist Biographies” about why he chose to not include the carvers of Route 66 type dolls. His reply was this: “While I find Route 66 dolls important to social history, I am doing a series called ‘Masterpieces of Native American Art’. I hope you can see why route 66 dolls are not appropriate for the "Masterpieces" series. Thank you for understanding my purpose.” He has published 9 volumes on various topics in his American Indian Art Series, all of which are now out of print.
Along with the Hopi makers, there were also Navajo crafts people making small wooden dolls known as Yei figures, usually out of a piece of pine (a wood easily identifiable and quite different from cottonwood used by the Hopis). These tend to be in a wider format with thin tiny noses, at times a tall tableta will be at the top of a head, these souvenirs carvings do mix well in a display with the Hopi versions.
Route 66 Kachina Dolls are truly the best format to begin a Kachina collection for their affordability, variety and availability. Some collections began as a treat for families who sought them out and chose one each time they visited the Southwest. The ability for these carvings to solidly stand in place and their diminutive size allowed them to be displayed easily (they were also easily transported in luggage). As they almost always had a hole in the top of their heads it wasn't unusual to put an eye screw in place and hang them from the family Christmas Tree. Hanging in a Christmas Tree they seem as though they are flying back to the evergreen covered San Francisco Peaks of Northern Arizona. Perhaps the most unique use of Route 66 Kachina Dolls I've ever seen was as Wedding Cake toppers.
If you get a chance to be in Taos, please visit our ‘brick & mortar’ shop in the Taos Historic District at 105 Barela Lane, there is free parking in the Taos Inn lot directly behind us. Or you can call for more information and purchasing inquiries 575-770-5580
