Lot 68
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Attributed to Dennis Hathale (Navajo, b. 1961). Navajo Picture Writing (3 Yeis) late 20th century. A wonderful example of Navajo picture writing on muslin (percale) depicting three Navajo Yeis, set in a custom triple matte and wooden frame behind glass. The central figure has a square head indicating that it is a female yei, while the round-headed yei figures are male. The central yei wields a bow and arrow, while the yeis that flank her appear to be dancing with feathered accoutrements. All is delineated in a polychrome palette of mint green, russet red, beige, grey, black, and white hues. A special composition that clearly demonstrates its roots in Navajo sandpainting, set in a custom triple matte and wooden frame behind glass. Size (sight view): 24.75" L x 32.875" W (62.9 cm x 83.5 cm) Size (frame): 33.625" L x 41.75" W (85.4 cm x 106 cm)
Such drawings are called picture writing by the Navajo. They are painted with the same earthen pigments used for sand paintings. Yeis are the supernatural beings that make communication between the Navajo people and their Gods possible and are thought to possess the power to bring about healing in medicinal ceremonies. The Navajo medicine man employs a combination of herbal medicines, chanting, and sandpainting to cure an ill person. He will sprinkle colored sands on the ground to create a specific Yei depending on the god he is hoping to contact. Once finished, corn pollen is spread over the painting to sanctify it. During the ceremony, the medicine man will sometimes wet his hand, press it on the Yei image, and wipe it on the forehead of the patient. Sometimes lasting several days, this sacred ceremony is designed to prompt evil to vacate the person's body and cure the illness.
According to Chuck and Jan Rosenak's "The People Speak - Navajo Folk Art": "Dennis Hathale was born in 1961 and attended boarding school in Blanding, Utah, for about ten years. He considers himself an apprentice medicine man. He prays that, 'someday, I will carry on after my father, but since 1986, I have been making muslins.' / Dennis and Lynda are more urbanized than the other members of the family. They live in a small, tucked-out-of-sight frame house in Farmington, New Mexico, where Dennis is employed on temporary jobs for construction companies. / From Dennis and Lynda, we were able to obtain some additional information about the muslin-making process. The basic material is used bedsheets purchased from the Salvation Army, flea fairs, and the like. Lynda points out that 'the more cotton in the sheeting, the better, because cotton absorbs our sand mixture. Unfortunately we have bought so many that good sheets are now hard to find.' / The sheets are cut to size and rolled in a home-made gesso mixture of earth and water. After a thorough soaking in this mixture, the sheets are hung on a line to dry, and the excess mud is scraped off." (Source: Pages 85 and 86 of Chuck and Jan Rosenak's "The People Speak - Navajo Folk Art" Northland Publications, Flagstaff, Arizona, 1994)
Provenance: ex-private Bishop Family Trust collection, the Trust of the late Bill Bishop, a noted antiquarian with shops in Scottsdale, Arizona and Allenspark, Colorado, USA, acquired before 2010
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#174728
- Condition: Painting is set in a custom triple matte and wooden frame behind glass. It has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be in very good condition save normal age wear. Minor scuffs to frame - otherwise framing is good and fit with suspension wire.
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