Heart of hearts. Navajo jewelry pendants.

It's been a while since we shared our adventures in Native American jewelry so we doing so in this blog. Of course, you can always visit our web site to see the whole enchilada of beautiful bracelets, necklaces, earrings, pins and pendants by our cherished Native American jewelry artists.

One of our proudest moments in the search for quality Native American art and jewelry, was our discovery many years ago of Calvin Begay, a superb Navajo jewelry artist. When we found him, his atelier was at Touch of Santa Fe, a workshop in Gallup, NM.

After a falling out with the owners of that studio, Calvin moved on and we have followed him. That is easier to say than do, since Calvin seems to keep moving.

Fortunately he also keeps creating beautiful pieces of Navajo inlay. We decided to feature his heart pendants as a natural subject for this Valentines Day season of love.

An album of them has been posted to Facebook for the world to see (and, we hope, purchase.)

Just follow this link. http://apps.facebook.com/marketplace/view/-/2401427868/

And happy Valentine's Day yourself.

PS: We will ship any item of Native American jewelry free for Valentines Day. Be sure to order while there still is time. We are figuring priority mail will get it to any domestic address on time if we ship by February 9. Express mail will get there faster. If you choose that option, we will only charge for the difference between priority and overnight.

More on Dreamtime Awakenng

We have created a slide show called Dreamtime awakening

to support our presentation to the the audience at Captiva Civic Association this afternoon. I'll try to add it to this blog so you may see it.

View more presentations from William Waites.

Or visit the Australian Room at TribalWorks

See us on Captiva, 1/26, 4:30 pm

We are scheduled to make a presentation on "Dreamtime Awakening: Understanding Australian Aboriginal Art" as part of the Captiva Memorial Library Cultural Fest on January 26, 2011 at 4:30 pm.

The event will take place in the Captiva Civic Association meeting room at 15500 Chapin Lane, Captiva.

The event is free and will include examples of Aboriginal that we have collected since 1978. Many of these pieces are displayed on line in the Australian Room of our web site, http:www.TribalWorks.com. For more information, contact Ann at the Captiva Memorial Library.

Special sale on African mask

We are offering this authentic African tribal art mask from the Kuba people for 50% off the regular price. It has been listed in our gallery, http://www.TribalWorks.com, at $1,000.

We now will sell it at $500. The wrought iron stand is included.

It is a stunning work of African tribal mask art, authentic in every way. We acquired it for our personal collection in 1996. While the precise age can not be determeind, we know it is at least 15 years old, today.

Contact us at 800-305-0185 to arrange purchase. Thank you.

Stolen Item Alert

As members of the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association (ATADA), we periodically receive alerts concerning items of tribal art that have been reported stolen. Experience suggests that wide dissemination of the alert to those who buy, collect or deal in tribal art can lead either to the arrest of the thief or suppression of the item's value as it is a crime to possess stolen property.

The latest alert concerns a three-stone turquoise Navajo bracelet.


More information about the stolen item and other stolen items reported to ATADA can be found at this link. http://www.atada.org/theft.html#szephyr2010

Aboriginals: Art of the First Person and its subsidiary web site, Native-JewelryLink.com are happy to support ATADA's efforts to discourage the theft of tribal art by reposting these alerts.

Melvin Sandoval fills our inventory of fetish carvings

Melvin Sandoval is a remarkably talented carver, with a sense of contemporary style that is unusual, even among his cohort of excellently talented artists.
His pieces are fluid, soft, supple and sophisticated in style. He has carved bears, lizards, badgers, double animals, wolves, foxes, ravens and eagles, in dolomite and other stones.
We fell in love with his carving the first time we encountered it. We have since become good friends with him, his family and his wife, Erma, who is Zuni. This summer, he graciously invited us to join a baptism celebration in his sister's home. It was an extremely memorable experience. We met his entire, I mean "entire", family, and the food just kept coming from the kitchen.
Thank you, Melvin, We were honored to be your guests and honored to be your friend.

To see Melvin's work, go to ZuniLink.com

New Dee Edaakie Carvings

We are working fast and furiously, well, not "furiously", more like joyously, to post up new fetish carvings that we acquired this summer for our ZuniLink web site.

The latest batch is from Dee Edaakie.

Here are three examples:

Buffalo in boulder opal

Standing bear in Chiapas amber

Bear in picture rock

Since we are running late, we are marking down all of Dee's work, even his older pieces, by 25% just through Friday, November 26.

If you see one (or more) that you want to buy at this special discounted price, use the order code "DeeLights" when you order. The discount will be applied to your purchase.

To see more of Dee's work, go to ZuniLink and look through Dee's pages.

Salvador Romero Carvings Are Up

We have just completed posting of new Salvador Romero Cochiti carvings to our Web site. These are the same carvings he refers to in this video interview. Scroll down for savings news.



See them and more outstanding work on the Web site.

Bear

Owl

Raven

Wolf and cub

Buy now to have for holiday giving. Use the special customer's buyer's code "11/15" and save 20% through November 25, 2010.

Save 25% off Native American jewelry earrings

Breaking silence here to announce that we are deducting 25% off every earrings pair purchased from our Native American Jewelry Link site. Pages and pages at 25% discount, to celebrate the many new pairs we have added. Prices start as low as $20 before discount. Take a look, but move quickly. Christmas and the holidays are coming. And almost every pair we have is one-of-a- kind. When it's sold, it is "out the door".

Click on the link above to reach the first of 20 pages and more than a hundred pairs to choose from. Then visit the remaining pages to see the entire selection.

Calculate your cost and savings by subtracting 25% from the list price on the web site. Thank you.

Thank you.

Native American jewelry, Gold and Silver

In December last year, I blogged about gold hovering around $1,200 an ounce, comparing that to to an earlier message when I reported it was about $800 per ounce.

Today, it probably will close above $1,300 per ounce. Silver is tagging right along behind it, having moved from about $12 an ounce to above $21 per ounce when I checked last.

Silver plays an essential part in the making of of the Native American jewelry. Gold is less important these days because the price of gold has moved above the investment level of many American Indian jewelry artists.

Will silver be the next precious metal that becomes "too precious" for use in native American Indian jewelry?

No one knows. And no one should encourage you or anyone else to buy either gold or silver as an investment. If you have the resources, the ability to take the risk and a lot more knowledge than we can impart here, it might be worth making it a part of your investment portfolio.

On the other hand, we know that the increase in the value of gold, and more important recently, silver, means that jewelry we acquired at much lower gold prices and silver prices are much more valuable today. If history repeats, it will become more valuable still.

Here's the really good news. None of the precious metal jewelry items we have for sale has been increased in price. We are charging exactly what we were back then. Clearly, the replacement cost will be higher. But that is for us to worry about.

As the Holidays approach and gift giving begins to rise on our interest levels, this is an excellent time to visit our Native-JewelryLink web site and shop.

For the month of October, we will even ship jewelry orders domestically at our expense, free to you (exclusive of insurance, if requested), just to get you in the Christmas shopping mode.

Of course, as always, if you are unhappy with your purchase from us after you receive it, you have seven days to let us know and a reasonable time thereafter to send it back for a refund. If you purchase it as a gift, we will honor the return privilege until 10 days after Christmas.

Stop by and see some of the most gorgeous Native America Indian jewelry you will ever see, artists such as Begay, Plummer, Jackson, Dewa, Ration, Coonsis and others. Thank you.

Tribal Art Native AmericanNavajo rug reported stolen

Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, of which Aboriginals is a member, has posted anothter stolen object report.

In this case it is a Navajo Ganado Style rug that was stolen on Sept 22, 2010 from the Phioenix Tribal Arts Show.

For more information, visit the ATADA Stolen Objects page this address.

http://www.atada.org/theft.html#ganado2010

Please be alert for anyone trying to sell this rug. It is stolen property and it is against the law to possess it.

Thank you.

Native American Nativity Sets Arrive in time for Christmas

Around 400 years ago, as the Spanish conquistadors moved north from Central America into the pueblo lands in what was to become the United States of America, they brought with them Catholic missionaries, to spread the story of Christianity.

As the story of Christ’s birth began to permeate some of the beliefs of the native people, it began to find a place in pueblo Indian culture.

Eventually, the Nativity became a staple as a subject for several Pueblo potters. Now, some of the beautiful pottery being created portrays the Nativity scene.

We recently returned from the Southwest, where we had the opportunity to acquire some new Nativity sets.

Three of them are pictured below.
For more details including price, a quick click on the pictures here will take you the object’s page on our pottery web site.

With Christmas rapidly approaching, this is a excellent time to comnsider acquiring on of these or our other Nativity sets to celebrate Christmas in your home. And to own a magnificent work of Native American art that your family hand down from generation to generation,

Feliz Navidad!

PS: As I wrote this blog, I was reminded of a more comprehensive article I wrote for broader publication a few years ago. I have posted it here.

Jeff Shetima's Zuni Six Directions Fetish Carving

The definition of "smitten" - how I fell in love with this beautiful six directions fetish carving by Jeff Shetima. The Gallup InterTribal Indian Ceremonial judges agreed apparently since it received the Best of Category Blue Ribbon at that competition. Anyway, here's a video look at it.



Hope you enjoy looking at it as much as I enjoy owning it. Someday it may even show up on our ZuniLink fetish web site. And thanks to Jeff Shetima for his inspired artistry.

Vintage Australian Aboriginal Art comes out of hiding.

Well, not exactly out of "hiding". But, until now these vintage Australian Aboriginal artefacts have been in our private collection and not shared publicly on the Web. As of this weekend, they have been added to the web site and may be seen in all their glory and detail at TribalWorks.com (navigate to the Australian Room).

Here are some sneak previews.






This smallish woomera (spearthrower) was acquired from well-respected Aboriginal art dealer, Tony Bond, in Adelaide, Australia, in 2000. The age was estimated as ca. 1950s.
















This somewhat larger woomera was acquired from a private collection in Sydney after the death of the collector. It's age is estimated at ca. 1950 as well. If you look closely you can see incisions that have been inscribed on the thrusting face of the object.











The next item is a "message board" - a carved oblong of would with Australian Aboriginal iconography etched on it's face. Message boards were used to communicate between Aborigibal groups in the desert. We have high confidence that this item is more than 100 years old. We acquired it from a dealer i 1996 who attested that it was originally acquired by a government officer in the 119th century.







Finally, here is a "fighting" shield, although it probably was used more for dancing. since Aborigines very seldom fought. It has been reported that settling of inter-tribal grievances would be done by the aggrieved groups confronting one another, dancing in threatening ways, and returning to their camps with both sides claiming victory. True? At least, it's a nice story in these days of mayhem and violence.

All of these pieces and more may be inspected more closely by visiting the TribalWorks web site, clicking on the "Australian Room" and then clicking on "carvings".

Tribal Art from our private collection

Poking around in our personal collection, we have turned up a couple of items never before presented to our public.

One Australian Aboriginal item is a beautiful, round, hand-woven basket done in pandanus fiber, with a firmly fitting lid, a four-coil handle and rosettes on each side. We acquired it in Cairns, at the Capricorn Gallery.

At the time, it was highly regarded by the gallery owner, as an outstanding example of the basket-weaving tradition and skills of the Australian Aboriginal artisans from the Oenpelli/Kakadu region of the Northern Territory.

The size is 10" high by 13" in diameter.

Unfortunately, the name of the basket weaver has been lost to the ages.

Pandanus is a common plant fiber from the Australian outback and top end, that is used for basket making. Colors are achieved by dying the fibers with natural ochres, ground into a fine powder and boiled in water.

This basket is a true expression of Australian Aboriginal culture and art in a functional piece. It is possible to be moved by the spirit when looking at it and feeling the quality of the weaving.

A second item from Aboriginal Australia is this carving of a parrot. We believe it was created by an Aborigine artist from Groote Eylandt, a sizable island to the north of the Australian mainland in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Blitners are a well-known family of artists from Groote Eylandt and we feel one of them could have been the creator of this remarkable piece.

Groote Eylandt is occupied by the Warnindhilyagwa people. It received its unusual name when named by Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman. Groote Eylandt is archaic Dutch for Large Island.

Regional cultures within Australia can vary widely in their traditions and art styles. The somewhat rough quality of this carving suggests it is rather old piece, although we can not attest to its age. We find it very powerful, reflecting portrayal from a time when parrots were important totems in Northern Australia. It is one of our favorite vintage pieces, standing 26" high with a 4.5" diameter at the base. Colors were achieved using natural ochres, kaolin and charcoal.

Eventually, both of these items will find their way to our web site. If you are interested n acquiring either of them, please visit us at TribalWorks.com and navigate to the Australian Room.

You are always welcome.

Sal Romero, Cochiti fetish carver, on video

One of our favorite Native American artists is Salvador Romero of Cochiti Pueblo. Sal carves differently from most Zuni fetish carvers. Whereas Zuni fetish carvers tend to carve in special gemstone and other commercial materials, Salvador carves stones and rocks that he harvests from the grounds of his pueblo. In this video, he talks about the process of finding carving material and how it leads him to what to carve.

ZuniLink, a name we chose because the preponderance of fetish carvers are Zuni, carries several pages of Salvador's carvings. Newly acquired one will be posted to the Web site shortly In the meantime, take a look at what's available now from this talented carver.
Thank you.

Samuel Manymules, Navajo, describes his "Perfect World" pot

We have several pots created by Samuel Manymules, who won to awards at this year's Indian Market. We were particualar struck by this pot when we encountered Samuel in his Indian Market booth.

We asked him to describe it on video tape for our viewers.




When you visit our website, click on the Navajo buttons on the navigation panel.

Lena Boone, Zuni fetish carver, talks about her family and carving.

Lena Boone has long been one of our favorite Zuni carvers. We meet her early in our pursuit of wonderful Zuni fetishes, possibly 20 years ago.

Lena is very productive, very gracious, and very giving of her love, care and attention to others.

She also is very unassuming.

An unfortunate aspect of In this video, during which she talks about her family, both ancestral and current, is my difficulty in arranging a proper video interview venue. Once she agreed, I had to settle for the venue at hand. It was a noisy booth at this year's Indian Market (2010).

The background sound is terrible, and I have not figured out how to filter it out, if that is even possible. If I do, I will re-post the video at a later time.

But for now, please listen carefully and learn about Lena's connection to the legendary Teddy Weahkie, one of the original Zuni fetish carvers, and how she fosters the talent of youngsters who have been in her care.

She is a truly remarkable woman.

You may see many pieces by Lena Boone on her pages at ZuniLink.com - click on one of her pages in the left hand navigation column. Then click on additional pages (there are five) as you go.

You may also use the search box on the Zuni Link home page and enter "Boone" too access carvings by her and Leland Boone, Emery Boone and Evalena Boone.

A fetish carving by Lena Boone not only brings traditional Zuni values of healing and protection but also carries the personal spirit and caring of Lena herself.


Thank you.

A highlight of our visit to New Mexico has been the 2010 Gallup InterTribal Indian Ceremonial, including the night parade that kicks it off.

We videotaped portions of it, which are shown in the following embedded youtube videos. Because of the length of the parade, we had to divide it into two parts. Watch both to get the full impact of the event.




We love the richness of Indian culture, its fidelity to family values, its enthusiasm and its arts, including Zuni carvings, Native American jewelry and Pueblo pottery, all of which are presented for purchase on our web sites. Thank you.

Zuni fetish carver, Burt Awelagte, tells about his carvings

While we were in Zuni and Gallup for the InterTribal, we visited Burt Awelagte in his home on the Zuni Pueblo. Here is what he had to say about his materials, his tools, his art and his vision. Fascinating!

More of Burt's Zuni fetish carvings will soon be posted on our ZuniLink website. Make a point to visit it in the future. Thank you