Hopi Pueblo Kachina Doll By Burt Poley

Late 20th Century

17.5" Including Base

Hand Carved from Cottonwood Root with Great Fine Carved Detail Holding a Bow and a 
Rattle

In Very Good Condition

Burt Poley (also known as Burton A. Poley or Burton Abbott Poley) is a Hopi artist and kachina (katsina) carver from the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. He belongs to a carving family; his father, Orin Poley (sometimes referred to as Orin Poley Jr., born 1942), is a respected Hopi carver who taught him the craft.

Burt began carving at age 13, initially making small flat dolls and bows/arrows for ceremonial use. He transitioned to serious full-time one-piece kachina sculptures around the late 1980s (when he was about 29). His work is hand-carved from cottonwood root using traditional tools like a pocketknife, involving days or weeks of detailed thought and fine-tuning for features, masks, and forms. Dolls are typically painted with natural pigments and can stand around 17–18 inches tall (including base).