A man's two-piece striped poncho. Stripes with geometric patterns have widths that are medium and wide, while stripes with solid colors have widths that are narrow. Because of the textile having been washed, natural white alpaca fleece has been changed to a light pink in places. Neck opening and poncho selvages have the same sewn-on edge of braid binding and fringe. Predominant colors of object are dark red and white with stripes of green, yellow and black. At the center of each of the two pieces that make up the poncho are a trio of large parallal diamond-patterned stripes with a narrower patterned stripe on each side. Narrow solid-colored stripes alternate with patterned stripes. The sewn-on braiding edge has diamond designs in yellow, green, dark red, and white; woven into the braid is a bright fringe of pink green, orange, red, white, black, brown and purple. To create curved edges on the poncho, each of the four corners has been sewn down.The object is complete and its overall condition is good. It was purchased unused. Condition: excellent.

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Gift of Dr. Werner Muensterberger

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Frank Sherman Benson Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Alfred T. White Fund

Henry L. Batterman Fund and the Frank Sherman Benson Fund

This is a wood mudhead clown kachina with a wool skirt. Koyemshi Kachina (Mudhead) Clowns Koyemshi Kachinas, or Mudheads were created when the Zuni first entered the world. One brother and sister had improper relations so their ten children became Mudheads. Each Mudhead exhibits behavior opposite to what their name is. Thus “The Aged One” acts like a child, “The Invisible One,” thinks he is hiding if he only holds up a feather in front of his face, while the all-important “Speaker of the Sun” is really a witless daydreamer and rarely speaks. A troop of ten different Mudhead Kachinas appear in most Zuni ceremonies performing outrageous behaviors and interacting with the audience, making them laugh but also making people realize how wrong such behavior really is as the clowns are eventually chased away.