Native American Art Auctions: Art Antiques

traditional or contemporary, Native Americanwon’t know what’s available unless
artwork is both highly collectible and universallyyou take the time to comparison shop.
appealing. Native American art forms the basis ofDuring the 1900s many of the Native American
many exemplary public as well as private artart and crafts that other peoples associate with
collections. People that collect Native AmericanAmerican Indians began to be commercially
artwork can be very passionate about theirproduced, especially by Asian nations. These
collections.Native American fakes became so widely
Older, more traditional Native American artworkpurchased that several millions of dollars were
and cultural artifacts are not merely revered andtaken from the American Indian artists in the
or emulated by modern artists, they are alsoform of cheap imitation Native American art.
held dear as parts of art collections the worldBefore purchasing Native American art antiques
over.it’s a good idea to perform additional
Fine Native American art done by well knownresearch has to the authenticity of the piece or
American Indian artists, such as Nampeyo, thepieces. Unless you’re highly knowledgeable
Hopi potter, can raise the caliber of a private oron the topic and have experience spotting fakes,
public art collection quite significantly. Iris Nampeyothis type of art can be extremely hard to verify
lived on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona. Sheby inexperienced sight alone.
made a good income making pots and sellingAll in all, collecting American Indian art antiques is
them at local trading posts.just like collecting any other antique, the definitive
A remarkable aspect of Nampeyo’s workand primary timeframe is anything that is
is that over time she became more ad morepre-1950s. Although a name that is well known
interested in making pots according to ancientcan seriously increase the value of an object,
ways, as opposed to the modern pottery thatcondition, workmanship and prevalence are
was being made by people at the time. Thefactors that are just as important.
quality of her work, as well as her interest andIncreasingly, even seasoned art dealers that deal
use of ancient pottery techniques certainly add toin American Indian art find it difficult to discern
the demand and high price tags of her work.authentic art antiques from imitation pieces. For
If you find yourself in the market for Nativethis reason, it is particularly important to opt for
American art antiques, be prepared to pay thedealing with reputable sources. In order to ensure
price. Particularly with Native American art,that your perfect Native American art antique is
availability doesn’t correlate to demand orthe real deal it’s worth taking the time to
cost, as is the case with many other highlylocate such a well known art dealer or museum.
collectible art types.There are specialized art museums and dealers
Items such as early Plains beadwork or latethat offer Native American art pieces. These
nineteenth century basketry are certainlyorganizations generally are most interested in
examples of what would be considered extremelypromoting Native art and cultures. The better of
rare finds in the world of Native American artthese institutions and organizations directly invest
auctions.many of the profits gained from the sale of art
When choosing from various art pieces, comparepieces back into the Native American community.
styles, read and research. This is really the onlyWhen it comes to collecting Native American art
way to educate oneself about the various typesantiques or any other type of art, don’t
of American Indian art. Then it’s time tobuy it unless you absolutely love it. Your best
shop around. Just like anything else, youpieces are going to cost a pretty penny.