Gold hits new highs

I know we wrote about this before but there is news.

According to AFP, Gold is closing in on $800 per ounce. This is the highest price since the early 1980s.

Gold prices are up about one-third over just the last year.

What does this have to do with tribal art?

Well, if you are a buyer of jewelry, and Native American jewelry in particular, you would be well served to look up the people you normally buy from and see if they have raised their prices to reflect the increase in gold value. (And where gold goes, silver is sure to follow.)

If they have not, you could be looking at some real bargains.

For example, at http://www.Native-JewelryLink.com, we have a number of gold and silver pieces that are priced at the same level they were at five years ago.

If you are interested, take a look now. At the rate it is going, the replacement cost may force us to raise prices soon.

Visit our Native American Indian jewelry site soon. The holidays are coming.

PS: We'll ship any order for $100 or more via USPS Priority mail at our our expense. Insurance will be at cost.

Thank you for your attention

Saving the Jaguar. You can help.

According to the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper, the jaguar, a predatory cat of Central and North America, is in a threatened species state.

A new organization called the Northern Jaguar Project is raising funds to purchase a 30,000 acre ranch in northern Mexico, which is an important part of the jaguar range and is currently owned by a man who says he personally shot many of the creatures when he found them on his land.

For more information about the Northern Jaguar Project, go to www.northernjaguarproject.org.

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The writer realizes this is not 100% on topic for Tribal Art. But I feel that many of the people who admire tribal art would be interested in this exotic creature and these attempts to stabilize their population.

Shameless commercial: New jewelry on http://www.Native-JewelryLink.com .

Delbert ChargingCrow carvings are ready for you

Whilst in New Mexico in August, we uncovered a cache of beautiful Delbert ChargingCrow carvings in the fetish tradition. We have just completed posting them Delbert's pages at ZuniLink. Some of our favorites are a slim, supple and subtle lizard carving in pale pipestone.
Then there is this double eagle in pipestone.
For a change of pace, Delbert carved a mule (or donkey) from one of his favorite materials, slate.
How about this horse in pink and white marble?


Delbert is a Lakota Sioux and very spiritual person. We are thrilled to have more of his carvings to share with our loyal customers.

But his pieces tend to move out fast. So hesitate at your own risk.

In Search of Sammy Smith, Navajo carver

It started before we traveled to Santa Fe this year.

A customer told us that she had seen a carving by Sammy Smith that she was interested in buying but it had already been sold by the store where she was shopping.

We were slightly acquainted with Sammy’s work but it was the result of the rare carving of his that we picked up through trusted third-party wholesalers.

Based on her request, we set out to find Sammy Smith, introduce ourselves personally and purchase a carving similar to the one the customer was looking for.
We finally found Sammy (pictured here) in Gallup, New Mexico, at small workshop on Route 66. (The legendary Route 66, where millions have gotten "their kicks", runs through the heart of Gallup.)

We walked into a veritable feast of carvings, each one more fascinating than the last. Once we started, we put aside dozens of carvings. We were particularly struck by his horses.

We have several collectors who are horse lovers. A few of them asked us to look for horse carvings that they could add to their collections. Sammy Smith gave us a big head start.

Here are a few examples of Sammy Smith’s wonderful carvings:

We start with Sammy Smith's statuesque Picasso marble horse.

Not a horse, but how clever is this pipestone donkey by Sammy Smith?

Rainbow calsilica forms a Sammy Smith owl with incredible "camouflage".

Sammy Smith is a stand-up guy when it comes to this Picasso marble turtle.

Sammy Smith had a little lamb. Its fleece was white as marble.

These and other carvings by Sammy Smith can be found in more variation and with complete details about size and price at

http://www.zunilink.com/Sammy-Smith-Navajo-Fetish-Carvings.htm

When you visit, be sure to click through to Sammy's second and third pages as well.

New Native American Fetish Carvings at ZuniLink

ZuniLink has added a number of new fetish carvings by noted Zuni, Navajo and San Felipe carvers.

There are several new items by Lynn Quam,

Argite buffalo by Lynn Quam

and more by his wife, Jayne.

Fossil jasper coyote by Jayne Quam

New items have been posted from San Felipe Melvin Sandoval

Steatite eagle by Melvin Sandoval

and Navajo Sammy Smith.

Marble horse by Sammy Smith

Also, if you are a horse lover, check out the new horses on ZuniLink.

Soapstone by Zuni Hubert Pincion

And check in again for more additions. (It was a great buying trip last month.)

Thank you for your attention.

Canadian Dollars match US bucks

Recently, the value of the Canadian dollar equaled that of the US dollar, so that Canadians now can buy anything in America at the same rate as in Canada. So, if you live in Canada or know someone in Canada, please note that every item in our web sites, including our Arctic/Inuit pieces that were purchased when the US dollar bought more value, can be purchased on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

The only limitation will be on art made from mammal parts. Those items can't be shipped out of the US, by regulation, without a special permit.

We welcome all our Canadian friends to shop our sites at ZuniLink, Native-JewelryLInk, Native-PotteryLink and TribalWorks .

Thanks for your attention.

PS: The Australian dollar is not far behind. When we last visited Australia to buy Aboriginal art, the US dollar was worth less than 60 cents US. Now it is worth 86 US cents. That's like a 43% discount for anyone who is valuing a purchase in Australian dollars.

New Calvin Begay Native American Indian jewelry posted

Back from Santa Fe for a week and we finally are getting some of our new acquisitions posted to the web site at Native-JewelryLink.

First up is a ton of bracelets, pendants, necklaces and earrings by noted Navajo jewelry maker Calvin Begay.

We met with Calvin in our hotel room in Gallup after running into him in Santa Fe. Normally, we would meet with him at A Touch of Santa Fe, his [former] company in Gallup. In Santa Fe, however, he told us he has parted company with TSF and now is operating on his own.

This means that any Calvin piece sourced from TSF should be very closely inspected. Is it signed by Calvin? Some residual designs (even those not signed by Calvin) still are coming through. But anything being offered from TSF hereafter may not be Calvin's work. That doesn't make it inferior. It just isn't Calvin's work, if that is what you want. Look very closely at the quality of the inlay and channel work.

We guarantee that any piece we sell as Calvin's is Calvin's and has either been acquired directly from him or certified by him as his work. Any purchaser who determines that a Calvin Begay piece he or she has purchased from us is not - in fact - a Calvin Begay piece, will receive a complete purchase price refund if he or she returns the item to us and lets us know within 10 days of receipt that he or she is doing so. We will even cover the return shipping under those circumstances.

Now, here are some samples of what you will find on Native-JewelryLink's Begay pages.Sterling silver horse pendant with inlaid turquoise, tiger eye, jasper, mother of pearl and
opal by Calvin Begay, Native American Navajo Indian jewelry maker

Sterling silver bear pendant with inlaid turquoise, shell, lapis and opal, reversing
to an etched silver scene on the back side, (see below) by Calvin Begay, master
Native American Indian jewelry maker from the Navajo Nation.

Sterling silver lizard pendant in a circular pattern with inlay of various turquoise varieties,
by Calvin Begay, Navajo Native American Indian jewelry maker

Kokopelli pendant in sterling silver with inlay of turquoise, shell, lapis and opal,
by Calvin Begay, Navajo Native American Indian jewelry designer.

Many more examples are available at the Native-JewelryLink website. Enter the search word "Begay" in the search field or scroll to the bottom of the page where the Begay pages are highlighted in green.

ZuniLink acquires Jeffrey Tsalabutie's award-winning lapis bear carving

As previously announced in this blog, Jeffrey Tsalabutie's lapis bear carving won Best of Class and a First Place Blue Ribbon at the 2007 Gallup Inter-tribal Ceremonial competiton.

Now, ZuniLink is proud to announce that it has acquired this award-winning carving. It will shortly be added to the inventory at ZuniLink.

Photos are included below:


Pricing has not yet been determined.

What does it take to win an award at Indian Market

Not everyone artist who enters the Indian market awards program wins an award, although with Best of Classification Awards, First Place Awrds, Second Place Awards & Third Place Awards, there are plenty of opportunities for recognition.

We couldn't photograph them all. Here is a random selection of the top winners. (And, at the end, a look at the crowds and booths that fill the streets and plaza of Santa Fe for two days of Indian Market.)

More Best of Class winners at Santa Fe Indian Market

As promised, here is more visual information about the Best of Class winners that were not included in the original posting on the winners.

Here is a video of Melissa Darden's comments. She is a Chitimacha Indian and won in Basketry.


Here is a still close up of her award-winning basket.









Here's video of the presentation of Jamie Okuma's Best of Class Award.

Here are some stills of the wearing blanket. Please note that the last photo, which shows Jamie's award-winning blanket on display in her Indian Market Booth, includes a photo from the Albuquerque Journal featuring Jamie's blanket being worn by her. Look closely at the photo in the newspaper and you will see yours truly, William Waites, standing in the background. (Proof that I was there?)

And here is the conclusion of the previous video with Chris Youngblood Cutler holding up his award-winning pot with stopper.


Finally, here is photo of Philander Begay, whose silver concho belt received the peer award as voted by other artists and only artists on the competition judging panel. Philander was not at the presentation so we are showing his photo here.

We hope you are enjoying these reports from Santa Fe.

We'll post more photos of winners that were excellent if not Best of winners.

We'll put those stills up shortly.

Thanks for your interest and attention.

IACA Spring MArket set for April 10-12 in Albuquerque

The Indian Arts & Crafts Association has announced that its Spring Market will be held in the Creative Arts Building at Expo New Mexico (aka the FairGrounds) on April 10 through 12, 2007.

The first two days, Friday and Saturday, will be a wholesale show restricted to licensed resellers. Sunday's show will be open to the general public with prices adjusted to retail levels.

Aboriginals: Art of the First Person is a member of IACA and adheres to its standards of ethics and accurate representation of authentic Indian art goods.

Visit our web sites as linked in the sidebar.

Thank you.

National Museum of the American Indian Holiday Art Market

The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian will hold its annual Holiday Art Market on December 8th and 9th, 2007 at the NMAI on the National Mall, Washington, DC and at the George Gustave Heye Center in New York City.

Invitations have been issued for artists to participate, with a deadline for application of September 16, 2007.

Artists may download applications from the NMAI website.

If you can't make it to either holiday market venue as a buyer, try the websites at ZuniLink, Native-JewelryLink, Native-PotteryLInk and Tribalworks to shop online with guaranteed authenticity and delivery before Christmas.

Thank you.

Putting the "WOW" in Pow Wow - at Santa Fe Indian Market clothing contest

One of the most popular events at Indian market is the native American clothing contest. It takes place in the Sunday morning of the last day of market at the Plaza in downtown Santa Fe.

Tribal members dress in traditional Pow Wow garb and regalia, and compete for cash prizes as judge by a distinguished panel of "experts". Winners are selected based on completeness of outfit, authenticity to the instant tribes traditions and general attractiveness.

As you look at these outfits, you might be tempted to say that they put the "WOW" in Pow Wow.

We offer the following videos, shot in two parts in order to meet the maximum length allowed by YouTube, where they are hosted. For more close-up stills, after viewing the videos scroll down tothe last preceding postings.

We hope you enjoy the show as much as we did. Of course, there is no substitute for being there. If you didn't make it this year, perhaps in 2008?


Here's part one.


Here's part two.


Thanks for your interest and attention from Susanne Waites and William Ernest Waites, proprietors of native American art web sites at Native-JewelryLink, Native-PotteryLink, TribalWorks and ZuniLink. Come visit us.

What to wear to a Pow Wow...

...as seen at the SWAIA 2007 Santa Fe Indian Market Native American clothing competition.

This is one of the highlights of Indian Market, taking place on Sunday morning, the last day of the two-day event. Tribal members sign up to compete in the clothing and regalia of their tribes. They are judged by a panel of "experts" for completeness, authenticity, attractiveness and ingenuity.

Here are some photographs of the event, with commentary were helpful. The first of the photos relate to the youth divisions. So precious...

They were followed by the young girls as shown below Here we have the front and back views of a particularly complex young woman's outfit

Here the MC points to a "cactus kicker" toes on the moccasins of a young woman, explaining that were included in order to allow the wearer to kick away a particular ball-shaped desert cactus with toxic needles.
Here come the outfits of the more mature women. The outfit on the far left includes rows of tin cones that rattle when the wearer dances. Next to her is a complex outfit that is described by the wearer in the video that precedes this posting. In the center, is a woman whose outfit includes - on her right hand shoulder - a group of patches of military units stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq. In her description, which we failed to record, she speaks of a trip to Iraq to visit the troops and how they reacted with gratitude for her desire to display unit their insignias and her support for the troops. To paraphrase, she said the only thing they asked was not to be forgotten.
Here is a row of the male contestants in full regalia. Missing from this photo, but apparent in the one that follows is one Cherokee who competed dressed in the uniform of a Cherokee brave who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War.And, of course, every competition must have a "Best of Show" award. Here they are.

We hope you enjoyed this brief journey into the colorful and historic world of native American Indian clothing. Eventually, we will post additional photos to our web sites at TribalWorks, ZuniLink, Native-JewelryLink and Native-PotteryLink. Thank you. William
Ernest Waites and Susanne Waites.