Danny Lomatska – Large Kooyemsi

Large, dynamic Kooyemsi by Hopi carver, Danny Lomatska. The katsina is 14″ tall and 7″ wide. He is holding a gourd-like rattle in his right hand and a dangling ear of corn in the left. He has a leather bag draped over one shoulder and hanging on his back. At first I couldn’t read the signature in pencil on this carving. But I made out that the last name ended in “ska.” So I looked up the Hopi name Lomatska in Greg Schaaf’s book of Hopi katsina carvers and there was Danny Lomatska. Closer inspection of the pencilled name confirmed his identity. Schaaf’s description indicates that Danny was active in katsina carving and trade shows from the 1960s into the 80s.