E2602

American Indian Dances

Butterfly Dance

Collins Cover Announcement 

INDIAN CEREMONIAL DANCES

BUTTERFLY DANCE

The butterfly is a delicate creature of fragile beauty. It was an important part of the ceremonial activities for the Southwest Desert Tribes including the Hopi, Navajo, Apache, and Zuni. In a ritual dance, La Mariposa, the butterfly woman, wears a very elaborate and symbolic costume. Wings are fashioned of eagle feathers and antennae rise from her back. She wears a dance belt which has been passed down from generation to generation and contains the "spirit of the butterfly". The maiden carries a feather fan and waves it up and down pollinating the people of the earth with the spirit of the butterfly.

The Kachinas were ancestral spirits deified by the Hopi Indians and impersonated in religious rituals by masked dancers. Since I am including an artifact connected to Native American dancers, I thought that a Kachina doll would be perfect for this Southwest Butterfly Dance. These dolls, carved by the Hopis from cottonwood trees, were representations of a Kachina and were given as gifts to children or kept as household decorations.

My handpainted cachet on this COLLINS Cachet is beautiful as it includes the intricate border, the coveted and artistic Hopi Kachina doll, and, of course, the lovely Indian dancer with the body of La Mariposa, the Butterfly. Item #E2602. $11.75.

2025 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 22 E2601 to E2605 — Native American Ceremonial Dances (five-cover lot) — 6-7-96

When I originally offered this very attractive and colorful set of five covers, they literally sold out immediately. Many collectors were disappointed to not get them at that time, and even now, these five beauties rarely show up for public sale. Each intricate hand painted cachet shows a Native American dancer performing, and each also depicts Native American objects such as totem pole, beaded moccasins, ornate shield, ceremonial doll, etc. And each cover has a marvelous hand painted border with individual different patterns on each one.

The stamps are also very lovely with the dances being represented — including the Hoop, Butterfly, Fancy, Traditional, and Raven. I wish you could pick up each one of these covers and examine it firsthand. The subject matter is superb with each cachet having the fluid motion of the dance and the artifact having the authentic historic beauty of its time period. The hand painting of each cachet is a stellar work of artistic craftsmanship. Review the five illustrations, and you will truly appreciate that every bit of color is achieved by brush stroke after brush stroke. They are truly first day cover treasures! Produced a quarter of a century ago, they have found their way into established collections and seldom appear on the open market. They are beautiful to behold.