Lowell Talashoma

Left Handed Hunter

12" total height


The Left Handed Kachina is said by some to be derived from the Hualapai Nation, but other Hopi attribute them to the Chemehuevi. He is called left handed because his gear is reversed.

To draw an arrow from the quiver he must use his right hand rather than his left as is normal. The Kachina moves with strange bobbing and little choppy steps. Despite his odd behavior, he is an excellent hunter.

"He is a favorite subject for the carving of kachina dolls or the paiting of pictures," records Barton Wright.

The Left-handed kachina, Suy-ang-e-vif, may act as a prompter in a dance or be found making odd little bows and taking small mincing steps at the edge of a procession.

A great deal of the time he has trouble with the Ho'-e when they appear in the same dance. [When together], one of the usual pair keeps up a steady step while the other points to evidence of [game] they are obviously hunting.

- Barton Wright, Kachinas: a Hopi Artist's Documentary (32)


Lowell Talashoma was born January 23, 1950 in the village of Moencopi, Arizona at the western edge of the Hopi reservation. He spent many of his childhood years in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a Mormon foster family.

In spite of his separation from the Hopi influence, his talent for carving came through as he began carving different animals from wood at the age of 6 as a Cub Scout.

Upon his return to Hopi at about the age of 10 he began carving kachina dolls and has been doing so now for almost 40 years. After Lowell's return to Hopi he spent many years trying to reconcile the Mormon and Hopi religions. He now feels the two flow together well for him. As a result, Lowell is a very spiritual man.

Lowell states, "I try to carve the dolls the way the Kachinas are in the dances. I look at them the way they walk, the way they stand and how they give the gifts."

Lowell's emphasis is on the surface treatment of the wood, creating a multitude of various textures that give a very realistic appearance. Lowell has also done carvings in bronze and is an accomplished painter too

Lowell's figures portray the human body in full action and in anotomic proportion. Lowell is featured in most every book on Kachinas. He is featured in Hopi Kachina Dolls and Their Carvers by Theda Bassman on pages 150-154 and in The Art of the Hopi by Lois and Jerry Jacka on page 79.

Lowell's work is also shown in Erik Bromberg's Kachina Doll Carving on pages 26,27 and 30. In Helga Tiewes book, Kachina Dolls, Lowell is featured on pages 117-119.

The Kachina is signed on the bottom of the base: "Lowell Talashoma, Sr."

Gallery Price: $2,750.00

Sale: $2,200.00
(plus sh/han)


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