Claudie Fredericks – Large Jumping Jack Eagle

This Kwaakatsina or Eagle is by Claudie Fredericks who is one of the few to work in this form. I bought it directly from Claudie. When the cord is gently pulled, the legs and wings jump about. The figure is quite large at 20″ tall including the feather and 23″ wide ranging from wing tip to wing tip. It comes with a leather hanging strap which makes it easy to hang on a wall. It is made of 15 wooden parts meticulously assembled. Photo 3 shows how the eagle looked before assembly and painting began. Claudie’s jumping jacks are featured in our book, “Hopi Katsina Anomalies: The Unusual, Rare and Unique,” Rio Nuevo, now Globe Pequot publishers (2024). 

Claudie makes these jumping jacks exclusively for the art market. Claudie told me Charles Fredericks was his great-grandfather and Tawaquaptewa his great uncle…They are featured in my book on “The Great Tradition of Hopi Katsina Carvers.”  Utterly distinctive!