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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;Taupou, post: 4439604, member: 45&quot;]First, it depends on what you mean by “authentic.”&nbsp; To a collector, historian, and purist, a kachina doll must be carved by a Hopi or Zuni carver, from cottonwood root, and portray an actual kachina from their religion/culture, (since neither the Navajo, or any other non-puebloan tribe or culture has kachinas, but carve strictly as a type of &quot;folk art,&quot; primarily for the tourist market.)&nbsp; This does not have the appearance of the commonly found Navajo carvings, however, which is a good sign.&nbsp;&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>Since it apparently has no signature, one can’t tell if the carver is Hopi or Zuni, so you look for whether or not it is authentic: does it accurately depict a carving as it would be made during a specific time period?&nbsp; Hopi kachina dolls have been made, over the years, in several different styles.&nbsp; This rather stiff and roughly carved pose is associated with the roughly 1910-1930 period, however the use of peasant feathers dates to the 1970s, when the Migratory Bird Treaty banned the use of trationally-used feathers.&nbsp; In addition, the blue color used on the neck area is apparently a recent addition or repaint, as is the black area, shown in the photo closest to the glass, which is not a good sign.</p><p><br /></p><p>The rain cloud symbol on the cheeks is found on three common kachina dolls, Early Morning, the Mashanta Flower, and Silent Kachinas, but all three should have a ruff in the space between the body and the case mask.&nbsp; It might have had one originally, which would explain the repainted blue area.&nbsp; </p><p><br /></p><p>The &quot;wear&quot; is not what would be found on a kachina doll from the 1930s, especially on the black base, which may have been made in the style of those during that time, but it doesn&#039;t show wear consistent with wear on the figure itself.</p><p><br /></p><p>Today, kachina dolls in all styles are found, so this may be a recent attempt to make an older style, or an older style that was “up-dated” by a Hopi, or by a non-Hopi former owner.&nbsp; There is just no way to tell.&nbsp; But I would say it is not “authentic” in terms of being in the original condition as when it was made, or in accurately depicting an actual kachina.</p><p><br /></p><p>That doesn&#039;t necessarily mean someone isn&#039;t going to want it, just that it does have issues regarding when it was made, or by whom.[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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