Mohave figure | Photographer: Oleg Kuchar | Rights management: Museum Ulm
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalMohave figure | Photographer: Oleg Kuchar | Rights management: Museum Ulm
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 International
Female figure made of unfired clay painted with red vertical stripes. The oversized eyes are slightly raised and painted in black and white. The chin is painted with four black stripes. The nose and breasts are moulded. The vulva and toes are formed by indentations. On the ears and around the neck, the figure wears rings and necklaces made from strings of pearls. Tufts of black horse hair are glued to the back of the head. The figure probably comes from the Mohave in the south-west of the United States, a tribe of the Yuma who inhabit areas on the lower reaches of the Colorado River in Arizona, California and Nevada. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Mohave adapted their ceramic tradition to the market created by Euro-American tourism. In addition to utilitarian ceramics, figurines and dolls were produced for sale to tourists. In addition to beaded necklaces and earrings, which were worn by both the female and male figures, traditional clothing was also usually made for the dolls.
