Deer Dancer

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Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by J…
Deer Dancer
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by John Bentham. For educational purposes only.
Artist/Maker (Native American [Cochiti Pueblo], 1932 - 1997)
Datec. 1980 - 1997
MediumTerracotta with paint, wood, and feathers
DimensionsOverall: 12 15/16 × 5 1/2 × 6 1/2 in. (32.9 × 14 × 16.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Juli and Gil Towell, Class of 1950, P1983
Object number2018.3.6
Not on view
Description"Animal dances at the pueblos are a plea for rain and for bountiful crops as well as an abundance of animals for food. Generally, buffalo, deer, antelope, and rams are portrayed together at a dance in the plaza. This likeness of a male Deer Dancer is leaning forward resting on the two wood sticks that simulate the front legs of the deer. This is the position in which the dancer moves about. He wears the headdress with horns and a sun shield over his forehead. On the back of his head is a spread of real feathers. The figure is illustrated with mesh stockings and traditional pueblo moccasins. His kilt is painted with three stacked black triangles outlined in red. His white shirt is unadorned except for the red cuffs. A simulated shell necklace is hung around his neck and a fox tail hangs from his waist on the back." (SOURCE: Adobe Gallery, Santa Fe, NM)

Additional Details

Provenance 2018: Hamilton College (Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art), by gift of Juli Towell;
2013 - 2018: Juli Towell, by purchase from Adobe Gallery, Santa Fe, NM;
? - 2013: Adobe Gallery, Santa Fe, NM, sold on behalf of or by purchase from a private collection, IN.
Markings Label: small white rectangular adhesive label with "13-10" written in black ballpoint pen.
Signature Signed "Louis Naranjo" on the underside of the figure's left foot in black ink.
Inscribed "Cochiti, N.M." on the underside of the figure's right foot in black ink.
Photograph by John Bentham.
Alex Hay
Date: 2006
Medium: Spray acrylic on linen
Object number: 2012.3.7
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N. James
Date: June 1818
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Object number: 1971.11
Un dettaglio del quadro l'Incoronazione della Vergine (A detail of the painting the Coronation of the Virgin)
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Medium: Albumen print
Object number: S2018.2.173
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Medium: Albumen print
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Medium: Albumen print
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Loro
Celia Vasquez Yui
Date: 2021
Medium: Coil-built pre-fire slip-painted clay and vegetal resins
Object number: 2022.8.2
Venado
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Date: 2021
Medium: Coil-built pre-fire slip-painted clay and vegetal resins
Object number: 2022.8.1
Image courtesy of the Ruth and Elmer Museum of Art at Hamilton College, Clinton, NY. Photo by J…
Maria Poveka Martinez
Date: c. 1925-43
Medium: San Ildefonso black-on-black terracotta
Object number: 2018.3.4
Photograph by John Bentham.
Hendrick Goltzius
Date: 1592
Medium: Engraving
Object number: 1992.56
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. For educational purposes only.
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2019
Medium: Digital print, silkscreen, and collage, with gloss varnish, in custom-color frame
Object number: 2020.3.2
© Jeffrey Gibson. Image courtesy of Sikkema Jenkins & Co. For educational purposes only.
Jeffrey Gibson
Date: 2019
Medium: Digital print, silkscreen, and collage, with gloss varnish, in custom-color frame
Object number: 2020.3.1