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THBGroup of 5 Huichol Mara'akame Shaman Ritual Hats
Lot 73d
About Seller
Artemis Fine Arts
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$400 - $600
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| $300 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
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| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Fine Arts
Aug 22, 2025
Set Reminder
2025-08-22 10:00:00
2025-08-22 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : Indigenous Art - Ralph T. Coe Center, Santa Fe, NM
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/indigenous-art---ralph-t-coe-center-santa-fe-nm-20324
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
Featuring works of art from the Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a non-profit focused on promoting Indigenous Arts globally. All proceeds from the sale of these items will support future grants to Rehoming Program participants. Artemis Fine Arts info@artemisfinearts.com
View Full Catalog (452)
- Lot Description
Latin America, Mexico, Huichol or Wixarika, ca. 1980s to 1990s CE. A vibrant and symbol-laden ensemble of five Huichol mara'akame (shaman) hats, dating from the 1980s to 1990s, each meticulously crafted from vegetal fiber and richly adorned with materials including squirrel tails, turkey and hawk feathers, plumeria seeds, acrylic yarn, ribbons, buttons, denim, deer hooves, and thread. These hats are not merely adornments but sacred instruments of Huichol ritual life, worn by shamans during pilgrimages, ceremonies, and healing rites. One particularly distinguished example, created by artist Julio Villa Ramirez around 1982-1987, features a crown encircled by soft squirrel tails, bright yarn pompoms, and colorful ribbon, its orange silk-rimmed brim both reinforcing the structure and adding visual brilliance. Size of largest (deer hoof fringe): 26.5" W x 7" H (67.3 cm x 17.8 cm)
Others in the group exhibit striking combinations of dyed feathers, exuberant yarn rosettes, deer hoof fringe, and geometric ribbonwork, each design reflecting the personal vision of the maker and the spiritual role of the wearer.
In the Huichol (Wixarika) tradition, the mara'akame hat is a powerful emblem of the shaman's ability to mediate between the human and divine realms. The wearer undertakes sacred pilgrimages to Wirikuta, the ancestral land of the peyote cactus, in search of the mythical blue deer and the nierika - the "gift of seeing." During these journeys, the hat shields from the sun and marks the wearer's spiritual authority, while its embellishments embody prayers for rain, fertility, health, and protection. Feathers may be used in healing rites to cleanse illness, while pompoms and beadwork carry symbolic associations tied to mythic narratives and the elements of earth, water, air, and fire.
Huichol art, including these hats, is a form of sacred writing - visual poetry that transmits myths, cosmology, and lived experience. Each hat is a record of vision and devotion, a portable altar worn upon the head. Together, this group offers a vivid testimony to the continuity of Huichol ceremonial life into the late 20th century, even as the Wixarika people have opened their traditions to the wider world in defense of their sacred lands and peyote rites.
Hat by Julio Villa Ramirez was exhibited in "Reflections on Movement" in May 2024 at Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico as part of the 2023-2024 Hands On Curatorial program.
Provenance: Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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#196430Losses and fraying to some ornaments, but otherwise, all have excellent presentations.Condition
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