San Juan Pueblo Kachina Doll By Linda Maestes

ca.  1970

11.5" H

Hand Carved and Painted from Cottonwood Root with very few dolls are carved at San Juan Pueblo for resale and is an uncommonly seen example

Excellent Condition

Linda Maestas is a Native American artisan from Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as San Juan Pueblo), a Tewa-speaking Pueblo community in northern New Mexico. She is recognized for her work in traditional Pueblo pottery, including polychrome bowls and vessels featuring intricate geometric designs inspired by ancestral patterns. Additionally, Maestas carves Kachina (or Katsina) dolls, which are spiritual figures central to Pueblo and Hopi religious and cultural practices. Her Kachina dolls are relatively rare, as San Juan Pueblo's tradition of carving them is less common than in Hopi or Zuni communities, but they reflect a shared Southwestern Indigenous heritage.