Native Art: Sculpture Sale — 25% Off! Corn Maidens and Medicine Bears

Corn Maidens by Mark Swazo-Hinds.
Photo copyright Wings, 2013, 2014; all rights reserved.

I promised a sculpture sale, didn't I? Here it is, at prices you've never seen in our gallery before. [Note: All shipping, handling, and insurance costs still apply, and with the larger sculptures, will be substantial due to weight, dimensions, and need for special handling.]

First up is the work of Mark Swazo-Hinds (Tesuque Pueblo). Mark is a master sculptor, and he and Wings have been friends and art buddies for twenty or thirty years now. We've carried his art in the gallery for . . . well, probably as long as there's been a gallery.

We currently have half a dozen pieces of his work: the four Corn Maidens shown above, and the two medicine bears shown below. We begin with the maidens.

Each of these is hand-carved from very pale, very fine pink sandstone, really almost a translucent peach in color. The surfaces are so smooth you can hardly keep from touching them; they feel a bit like large worry stones. In lieu of the traditional tablita headdress, each wears Mark's trademark bundle of brilliantly-hued macaw feathers. All dimensions are approximate, and more or less from memory: The two smaller ones are in the 3"-4" high range; the largest is about 6"; the one in the back on the far right is about 5" high, and is narrower — almost an inverted teardrop shape. Prices: 

• Far left: SC035; retail, $275; sale price, $206.25 + s/h/i.
• Middle: SC033; retail, $425; sale price, $318.75 + s/h/i.
• Far right: SC036; retail, $275; sale price, $206.25 + s/h/i.
• Back: SC034: retail, $325; sale price, $243.75 + s/h/i.

Medicine Bear by Mark Swazo-Hinds.
Photo copyright Wings, 2013, 2014; all rights reserved.

Orange alabaster medicine bear, roughly 7"-8" long, if memory serves. Again, it's a smooth, silky, touchable surface, brilliant clear orange, with a translucent white marbled matrix. The medicine bundle is made of macaw and turkey feathers, shells, pottery sherds, and bits of turquoise. SC032; retail, $425; sale price, $318.75 + s/h/i. Requires special handling.

Medicine Bear by Mark Swazo-Hinds.
Photo copyright Wings, 2013, 2014; all rights reserved.

This medicine bear is coffee-table-sized. Carved of very pale sandstone in a subtle version of the traditional Southwest hump-backed style, he's more than a foot long and extremely heavy. Like his little orange brother, he has a complex medicine bundle of macaw and turkey feathers, pieces of turquoise, old pottery sherds, and shells, but his is tied on with fabric to keep it secure. This one is a showpiece. SC025; retail, $2,500; sale price, $1,875 + s/h/i. Requires special handling.

If interested, leave me a message in the comments, e-mail me, message me through Facebook, or contact me through the Web site contact form.

All text copyright Ajijaakwe, 2014; all rights reserved.