About the work

Chine-collé print on watermarked wove-type Umbria Italia paper. Housed in a period oak frame under museum glass (non-reflective, UV protection). Signed “Elizabeth E. Keefer” on lower right.

Chine-collé is a special technique in printmaking in which images are transferred to a surface that is bonded to a heavier support in the printing process. This allows printmakers to print on a delicate surface, such as Japanese paper, which pulls fine details off the plate and, if desired, provides ground color behind the image that is different from the surrounding backing sheet.

Elizabeth E. Keefer Boatright (1897-1989) was known as the “etcher of Indians.” She developed a keen interest in Native American culture when she first went West in 1921. While attending the Art Students League in New York (1924-25) she came under the influence of Joseph Pennell, master etcher. She was his assistant from 1925 until his death a year later.

Shortly thereafter, she began making aquatints and drypoint etchings of Indians she observed in Arizona and New Mexico, and was given permission to visit and document the peoples of San Ildefonso, Taos and Cochiti pueblos. Her visits to the Southwest continued into the 1930s where she did more etchings of Native American subjects, eventually earning a one-woman show at the National Museum in Washington, D.C.

Details in Boatright's etching show a high degree of accuracy. The villages in Arizona and New Mexico perform seasonal ceremonial dramas in which the characters are similar, but each village prescribes its own rules for costume and action so that they do not appear exactly alike, even when borrowed. Thus the print could be seen as an amalgamation of costume features from more than one village or people, but the prevalence of similarities and borrowing makes the final determination difficult for a laymen.

In Zuni ceremonies, observers described pendent fox skins fastened to the belts in the back. At the back of the right leg, just below the bend of the knee, was fastened the turtleshell rattle. The right hand carried a gourd rattle filled with pebbles, the clatter of which simulated the sound of falling rain. The tortoise shell rattle is of particular sacredness because the tortoise lives in the water and has influence with the Rain Gods. When worn in the dance, the belief is that the supernaturals hear the rattle and thus know that the tribe needs rain for crops.

At the Pueblo village at San Ildefonso, one observer described “a gourd rattle was carried in the right hand and a bow and arrow with eagle feathers swinging from the string appeared in the other.” The observer noted that the “black hair hung loose in a solid gleaming mass, while in direct contrast a downy white eagle feather floated from the top.” At Walpi, observers noted fox skins trailing behind the dancers, with woven red garter bands below the knees. Other accounts describe dancers with the lower legs and arms painted blue or in knitted blue leggings, although sometimes just one side of the body.

The sun-disk ornament seen on the dancer at right is surrounded by feathers and symbolizes the sun. It often has stylized features painted on its buckskin face, as is the case in the print. The disk is associated with seasonal ceremonies and is intended to ensure that the growing season will be plentiful.

Because Boatright’s image is a print transferred from an etched surface, her drawing would be reversed once transferred to paper. Thus the original plate image correctly shows the gourd rattles in the right hand of the dancers, and the tortoiseshell rattle at the back of the leg of the front dancer to left, would be on the right leg, as described by observers. The degree to which details in the print are described in firsthand accounts is intriguing and elevates its historical significance.

Primary reference: Roediger, Virginia More. Ceremonial Costumes of the Pueblo Indians: Their Evolution, Fabrication, and Significance in the Prayer Drama. Berkeley:  University of California Press,  1991.

Packaging and Shipping

We gladly provide shipping quotes upon request.

Sales tax

Items shipped or delivered to a Nevada address will include applicable sales tax on the purchase invoice.