Keena – Native Indian Artist – 1949 – 1995. This is a vintage, hand carved sculpture, made by Indigenous, Canadian-born artist known as Keena. She was born of the Canadian based Mohawk/Haudenosaunee people in 1949. She began crafting sculptures and other pottery items in her 20s. Her main theme was her own heritage.
This figurine is of a "Mohawk" woman holding her infant son in her lap. It is in great, used condition. No chips or cracks. Highly collectible.
Hand signed by Keena herself.
3 ¾” Tall x 2 3/4” wide
Keena was born to a Mohawk father and French-Canadian mother in 1949. She was given up to be adopted and, until she was a young teenager, grew up in an orphanage. She was taken in as a foster child to a strict French-Canadian home. She always knew she was native although she had never been told this. Keena said she was from the bear tribe. She began working with red clay when she was in her twenties and this small beginning translated into creating a world of colorful figurines in different tribal costumes. A favorite theme of hers was mother and child and she eventually had three children herself. She often incorporated this into her bigger sculptures with other creatures like the wolf, the eagle, the bear and the turtle. She hand-sculpted vases and decorated them with ceramic paints and she created a multitude of multi-faceted masks to ward off evil.
In 2005, one of her Nativity scenes was used on a Canadian 85 cent stamp (see photo) and later another of her Nativity scenes was displayed at St. Joseph’s Oratory
Keena's crèche, shown on the U.S. rate (85¢) stamp, is "an enormous set, created from baked red clay and color glazed, all encased in glass and filled with all sorts of animals...," says Charney. It depicts an aboriginal mother and child, surrounded by nearly three dozen wise men and women, some with children, and all bearing gifts.
REF: postagestampguide.com
REF: montrealserai.com
Stamp image credit: postagestampguide.com
Date of Issue: November 2, 2005
Printer: Lowe-Martin Company, Inc.
Postal Administration: Canada
Free shipping within the Continental US, USPS Priority, bubbled wrapped with peanuts.
Sold on eBay for $95 and will go toward the Homeless fundraiser.