Pair SHONA-HAH Hand-Carved Figures Native American Fine Art Sculptures Cherokee

When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Pair SHONA-HAH Hand-Carved Figures Native American Fine Art Sculptures Cherokee:
$2600.00

This pair of hand-crafted and highly-valued fine art figures by acclaimed Native American artist, Shona-Hah (1912-1997) who called them “Little People,\" offer a glimmer of light into what everyday life was like in historic America - depicting the activities and traditional dress of Native Americans. Each part of the figure was careful created by the artist. The dolls here represent the legacy of the Cherokee-born matriarch of the Lelooska family and mother of four artists, all of whom are widely recognized for their Native American art. This unique pairing includes two female elders; harvesters:1. Standing harvester:Hand carved wooden body, face, and hands. The figure wears a woven black head scarf and deep, regal purple blanket, adorned with matching fringe. Her woven cotton dress is bright blue with a white flower pattern. In her hands, she carries a tribal basket woven by the artist. He feet are adorned by soft suede moccasins in historic tradition of her tribe. The long braided hair is human. The wooden base is signed by the artist. (The orange object in the basket is a price tag from an earlier era in this figure’s life.) (Height: 12 inches - Mid-Century)2. Sitting harvester: Almost a sister “little person,” the second doll wears a very similar dress to her standing partner - bright blue with white, orange flowers and green leaves. This figure, too, has hand-carved wooden body, face and hands. Her black and grey hair is also donated by a human. This doll appears to be putting the final weaving into her basket, (actually woven by Shona Hah), with the final reeds sitting and waiting on the base. This figure has a woven grey scarf and knitted grey woolen sweater and is barefoot. (Height 9 inches - Mid-century)Sold separately (but who would dare separate these two?) dolls valued between 2,000 and 3,400.For your interest, I am including two stories. One is a history of Shona Hah and the other one, part of a fascinating interview of the artist written in 1995. Condition: Excellent.Proceeds from sale benefit the West Marin Community Services, a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation.SHONA-HAH BIOGRAPHY:
Shona-Hah is the mother of Lelooska, Kwunkwa-dzi, Patty Fawn, and Tsungani. She was born in a black walnut log cabin in Oklahoma’s old Cherokee Nation. There, she was given the name Shona-Hah, “gray dove”. Her Kwakwaka’wakw name, Tl’alilhilugwa, bestowed in 1968, means “whale rising”.
Shona-Hah’s life bespeaks her Indian heritage. In her youth, she both trained horses and rode in races and exhibitions. As a small child, she began participating in the traditional dances and continued throughout her life. Always interested in all facets of Indian art, she exceled at beadwork, skin sewing, carving, painting, and doll making.
Her dolls are valued highly by private collectors and museums as illustrations of vanished cultures. They bring alive both ceremonial and every day events in the lives of the people of many different North American tribes. From the Osage of Oklahoma to the Kwakwaka’wakw of British Columbia, she draws on first-hand knowledge of the cultures and the memories of the Old Ones for her inspiration.
Shona-Hah’s children credit her with their love and respect for Indian art and traditions. She taught them the skills she had acquired and sacrificed to help them become artists in their own right.
“She and our grandfather,” Lelooska says, “imparted to us that which was to become the essence of our heritage.”
Passing away in October of 1997, Shona-Hah occupied a place of major importance in the family structure. A cohesive element in the group, she was also an important contributor to the educational programs. She not only participated in them, she also made many of the costumes.ARTICLE ABOUT SHONA-HAH
Indian Dollmaker Carves Niche For Herself With An Eye For Detail
By Tom Vogt
ColumbianARIEL, Cowlitz County - Shona-Hah prefers old faces. Creased by the years, weary and wrinkled, they have stories to tell.
And she helps tell them. She coaxes their stories out of wood, then fills them in with cloth and leather and human hair. When she\'s done, the result is a 12-inch doll portraying a Native American; an old Indian, usually.
\"I don\'t like to carve young people,\" she said in her studio near Ariel, northeast of Woodland. \"They don\'t have much to say. Older people have a lot of history on them.\"
... She says she was born in Oklahoma or Missouri. Their dirt-floor cabin straddled the state line, and \"I don\'t know which state I was born in,\" she said with a smile.
She lived on a reservation until the age of 4, then grew up on a Wyoming cattle ranch. At 6, Mary survived being struck by lightning.
\"Shoshone and Arapaho would come down to touch her,\" Don Smith, her son, said. \"They thought she was blessed. That\'s some heavy-duty blessing.”…...Smith has no idea how many Indian dolls she has produced, although she kept a log for several years.
\"You can see the price go up, too,\" Smith said. The early works in the log went for about $250 in the mid-1970s. One of her latest creations is \"The Journey,\" showing an old woman and her dog on a trek. It is on display next door at the family gallery with a price tag of $1,250. MacRae said four of Smith\'s dolls were selling for $1,800 apiece at a recent Indian art show in California..Copyright (c) 1995 Seattle Times Company, All Rights Reserved.
*************Condition: Excellent.