- The body of the dancer is 1.625″ deep.
- The base of the figure is roughly 2-inches square.
While the first two items by Darlene that entered this collection are jars (1988-02 and 1989-02), she has become better known for her tiles (2016-04, 2021-14) and small effigies of dancers of the sort discussed here. While the overall form of these dancers is standardized, the shape and designs on the tabulas vary, as does the design on the torsos. This example is slightly off-center and is delicately and densely painted, giving the dancer a sense of motion and substantial personality.
Form:
The figure is unexpectedly light weight, indicating that the walls of the tubular body must be quite thin. The tabula is perfectly flat, the body evenly-shaped and the rectangular platform on which she stands perfectly even. Before being notched the tabula was a 2 X 2 inch square. As seen from the front, it now has a circular cutout on its right edge and two steps cut into it left edge and was slipped with a micaetious clay, giving it a slight sparkle. Where her hair spills down her back, the wet clay was combed to give the surface texture. The front of the torso was stone-polished. The 2 X 2 inch square stand is matte-finished. Her mouth is a tiny hole, which adds to the character of her face but also allowed air to escape the hollow body during firing. A jutting chin distinguishes the head from her torso. The head leans slightly to the viewer’s right. Tapping the edge of the stand results in a high-pitched sound, suggesting that the figure was kiln-fired. The lack of blushing on the surface of the figure reinforces this conclusion.
At some point the figure was knocked over and suffered extensive damage. The tabula was separated from the head and broken into a large and a small fragment. The front left corner of the stand was broken off. The figure was reassembled and glued.
Design:
All sides of the figure are decorated. The front of the tabula displays 8 different elements. Two are painted red and at the center is a white cross, while the remaining 5 elements are black. The rear of the tabula is divided horizontally into two panels of design. The lower panel displays 4 red conjoint angular elements with unpainted centers. To their right is a squared black crook. The remainder of the background is painted black, with a small section solid color and the rest stippled. The upper panel features a spray of three realistic feathers with white bodies highlighted by very delicate light tan veins and capped with solid black tips. To the right of the feathers is another squared crook, this one painted red.
On the front of the figure the black hair is shown in bangs, with black feather earrings. As noted above, as the hair passes under the tabula and hangs down the dancer’s back it was textured with the teeth of a comb. The face displays two thin lines representing the eyebrows or eyes; there is no nose. The tiny round hole mouth is centered between larger circular red markings on the cheeks. Below is the jutting chin.
On the torso below the head are two large red elements roughly the shape of a capital “G” and shown with opposite orientations. While arms are not carved into the figure, these two red elements might be intended to suggest arms and hands, the curve of the G the arms and the ending crosspiece the hands. Below each red G is a black element with a shape suggestive of a butterfly. This black form is crosscut by three parallel lines, forming an unpainted “2-lane highway.” Set into the bottom edge of these black butterflies are large white crosses outlined by a thin black line. The hem of the dancer’s outfit is indicated by two parallel black lines. Set on the top line is a pair of triangles, each formed by three black squares. Hanging from the bottom line of the hem are three white elements formed by overlapping white half circles. No legs are shown as they are presumably covered by the dancer’s long dress.
Design Analysis:
The figure was well-repaired. Being entirely plain without design, the stand tends to visually disappear beneath the attractive and painted figure above, so the repair of its corner is not readily noticed. The tabula broke off where it was attached to the curved head, so this break point is largely camouflaged. A viewer does not particularly notice the damage to the tabula, since the additional breakage is small and a viewer’s eye is distracted by the dramatic form of the tabula and its extensive painting.
The simplified face and lack of carved or explicitly-drawn arms or legs makes this an abstracted impression of a dancer. The red round markings on her cheeks indicates the female identity of the figure.
The painting very precise: look again at the veining of the feathers on the rear of the tabula or the tiny earrings showing a similar form. This delicacy of design reinforces the femininity of the dancer. On the rear of the tabula the black squared crook on the bottom panel is paired with a red squared crook in the top panel, thus visually integrating the designs on the rear of the tabula.
The unbalanced shape of the tabula gives it energy. A second red element on the left side of the front of the tabula throws the design off-balance, adding more energy. Perhaps as a result of the unbalanced weight of the tabula, the dancer slightly tips her head to the viewer’s right. These off-center features work together to give a subliminal sense of movement to the dancer who might otherwise have seemed linear and stiff.
The two red stripes along the upper edge of the tabula front attract the eye to this form.The front of the tabula has two red elements, the torso displays four red designs. This pattern visually integrates tabula and dancer. Perhaps the two black butterfly-like images on the front of the torso suggest she is dancing in a social dance as a member of the butterfly clan.
The white cross on the tabula above the head is also drawn twice on the lower torso, this visually integrating the design. The black brick pyramids on the hem are an ancient form that Nampeyo drew on a bowl in this collection (1996-05). The white half circle pyramids on the hem are cloud images, a design widely used at Hopi when asking for rain.
Darlene is one of the few potters at Hopi making effigy figures, Larson Goldtooth being the other maker of note (2013-24 and 2019-13).
Given that this effigy is less than 7-inches tall by 2-inches wide, it does not provide much space for artistic expression. Nevertheless the intriguing form of this figure and its delicate painting with complex design give it a substantial visual presence. Public dancing and celebration are central activities of the people who live at Hopi and this small figure well captures that cultural expression of joy.
