We are in the midst of creating a new category under Native American Jewelry: Contemporary Jewelry. This section will feature Navajo, Zuni, and Hopi jewelry made from 1960 until today.
Advantages to buying from a reputable dealer
A customer recently asked me about an item on Ebay. In formulating my response, I focused on what a collector gains when he or she purchases from a known, named, and established dealer.
I offer good and clear title to all objects sold by me. I fully warranty the authenticity and condition of the work. I sell only items of high quality. If there are repairs that I am able to detect, I readily disclose that information to the collector. I believe in the material that I sell and I own a large majority of my inventory.
In addition, I am available to collectors who want help in formulating a collection. I also offer advice to customers on the best way and time to sell their art and jewelry, if they so wish. For a very modest fee, I am available to advise and bid for customers if an auction has objects that they would like to purchase.
These collective services are rarely provided to the collector by an auction, whether it is online or on site.
Please contact me if you would like to learn more.
ADA SHOW NOW OPEN!
ADA ONLINE SHOW OPENING IN A FEW DAYS
The Antique Dealers Association of America (ADA), composed of the top Americana dealers in the country, is holding another Online Show. It will be opening on April 28, 2015 at 10 am and will run continuously through April 30th at 10 pm. Dealers will be offering exciting material in this show, just as they do at the traditional Americana shows like the Philadelphia Antiques Show and the Delaware Antiques Show. Prices will vary as will categories of material but all are high quality and are fully warrantied. There is likely to be something there that will catch your eye!
These shows have been very well received by the public and press. "Attendance" has dramatically increased with each show. Don't miss out!
A link to further details about the show: ONLINE SHOW
Rare Navajo Sandpainting Rug
We are thrilled to offer for sale a very rare and fresh-to-the-market Navajo sand painting rug. The Navajo traditionally proscribe the replication of drawings in sand that are made by the medicine man at the height of a ceremony. These images are sacred and are destroyed at the end of the ceremony. It is believed that anyone who replicates them will suffer harm.
There were a very few Navajo weavers in the 1920s who began to weave textiles with these ceremonial designs, some to preserve the tradition and others in response to the strong demand by the marketplace. The weavers usually altered a few of the details...
Upcoming Online Antiques Show
PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Antiques Dealers' Association of America, Inc. (ADA) is once again sponsoring an Online Antiques Show. This will be the third such show offered by the ADA, each one building on the success of the previous ones. We are proud to be participating in this show.
The show opens on Tuesday, April 28th, at 10 AM and continues through Thursday, April 30th, at 10 pm. Dealers will be available to promptly respond to customer questions during reasonable business hours. We will send out a reminder and more details as the time of the show nears.
All the material offered for sale is warrantied by the dealer offering it. Descriptive information will include approximate age, origin, condition, and price. Restoration is required to be noted.
Seeking Quality Consignments
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts is seeking fresh, quality material for consignment or purchase. Please send us photos of what you have with size, condition, and price (if you have a specific price in mind). Vintage objects are preferred.
New Postings, Museum Exhibits, In Memoriam
Reminders and more...
The Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show will be held February 14-17, 2015 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center. I will be in Booth 207, sharing space with Schillay Fine Arts.
Please click HERE for a complimentary one day ticket for two.
If your collecting interests are in other categories like pottery, baskets, textiles and beadwork and you would like to see inventory that is not currently listed on our website, please contact us. We will send you photos and information.
If you wish and if we can do so, we will try to bring the object(s) with us.
OTHER NEWS:
We spoke to our dealer friends at the Winter Antiques Show. They all report strong interest and excellent sales. Looks like the market continues to make a healthy recovery!
Philadelphia Antique Show 2015 Cancelled
I am sad to report that this year's Philadelphia Antique Show has been cancelled due to administrative issues. Planning for next year's show has begun and we all look forward to an exciting and beautiful show in 2016.
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts has an extensive inventory that includes exciting material that we have recently acquired. We hope that you will come visit our gallery (as I am a private dealer, we are open by appointment only). Also, of course, watch our website for new postings and contact us to find out what other material we might have in your interest area.
Come visit us during Antiques Week in New York City!
Coming to New York City for the numerous shows and auctions during Antiques Week in New York City (January 20-25, 2015)? We hope that you will take the time to visit us as well!
Marcy Burns American Indian Arts is a private gallery is that is set up to exhibit to you. We hope that you will call or email and set up an appointment to visit.
Palm Beach Jewelry, Art and Antique Show
We are delighted to be participating in the 12th Annual Palm Beach Jewelry, Art & Antique Show, February 14-17, 2015. We will be featuring vintage Native American and Taxco jewelry and can be found in Schillay Fine Art, Booth 207. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to learn more about what we will be bringing.
Complimentary tickets are available. Please click this link: TICKETS
To learn more about the show, go to SHOW INFO
WE HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!
Zia four-color jar, circa 1890
It is very interesting to compare this wonderful pot to one that is in the collection of The School of American Research. Dwight Lanmon believes that these two pots were made by the same potter and we have to agree.
The potter has made two pots of very similar shape and design elements but she has made differing use of color and space in filling in the basic elements.
To read more extensively about these pots, go to our discussion on our pottery page.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
WE HOPE THAT 2015 WILL BE A HAPPY AND HEALTHY YEAR FOR ALL
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU SOON
(PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CALL US WHENEVER YOU ARE SEARCHING FOR NATIVE AMERICAN ART AND JEWELRY)
Marcy Burns Schillay
ONLINE ADA SHOW
ADA ONLINE SHOW
The Antique Dealers of America (ADA), is excited to announce our 2ND ONLINE SHOW, which opens on Tuesday, December 2nd and runs through Thursday, December 4th. This is a unique show in which the top Americana dealers in the country offer items for sale, much as in a formal antique show, accompanied by a full warranty.
To access the show, go to: http://www.adadealers.com/html/online_show.php
The announcement about the show can be found at: http://www.artfixdaily.com/artwire/release/2580-the-antiques-dealers-association-of-america-to-host-2nd-online-an
I have posted 15 items in the show, with descriptions and prices. Most of these items are not listed on my website. I have posted additional items to my website and you should feel free to check those listings as well.
The easiest way to my offerings in the ADA ONLINE SHOW is to search the site for "MARCY BURNS" or "MARCY BURNS AMERICAN INDIAN ARTS LLC". Alternatively, items I have posted will also be found under "NATIVE AMERICAN" and "DECORATIVE ARTS".
All items are priced and can be purchased directly on the ADA website. I will be available during the show to answer any questions or concerns that you might have.
[There were some technical difficulties when we ran the first online show. Hopefully these have all been corrected. However, If you have any difficulties, please let me know immediately and I will have them rectified]
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FREE SHIPPING WITHIN THE CONTINENTAL US DURING THE MONTH OF DECEMBER!
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SAVE!!
We are happy to offer you free shipping within the Continental US throughout the month of December!
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Thank you to all who attended the Delaware Antiques Show
Reminder for the upcoming Delaware Antiques Show and more
20th anniversary National Museum of American Indian in NYC
We have a Facebook page!
We now have a Facebook page. To see it, you can click the little f in a blue circle above the contact section of our home page on our website. Alternatively, you can enter in the address bar:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marcy-Burns-American-Indian-Arts-LLC/730878460292438
In addition to posting our monthly newsletter releases, we plan on entering information about recent acquisitions, exhibits, museum exhibits etc.
Please "Like" us on our Facebook page. This will help other people discover Marcy Burns American Indian Arts.
Delaware Antiques Show 2014
The Delaware Show is fast approaching. This year is the 51st year of the show (!), clearly making it one of the oldest American antiques show in the country, and it is thriving! The show opens on November 6th for a charity preview and continues with regular admission November 7-9, 2014.
The show is owned and sponsored by Winterthur Museum, which has one of the great collections of American decorative arts. Plan on combining a visit to the Museum with a visit to the show!
Navajo (Dine') concho belts
Third Phase concho belt
Navajo concho belts 1930-1960
Navajo concho belt, 1920s-1930s with repousse' and turquoise
1930s concho belt with arrows...probably made for Fred Harvey shops that were in the railroad stations
Navajo concho belt, mid-20th century or possibly earlier.
Navajo concho belt 1930s-1950s
The Navajo (Dine') learned how to work silver in the mid-nineteenth century. They had long appreciated silver jewelry that they acquired from Southwestern Hispanics and Plains tribes but it is generally believed that they did not learn how to make metal jewelry until circa 1850 when Atsidi Sani became friends with a Mexican smith named Nakai Tsosi. Tsosi taught him how to work iron so that he could make bridles that he could sell to other Navajo. After the end of the Navajos' internment at Bosque Redondo near Fort Sumner in 1868, Nakai Tsosi taught Atsidi Sani how to smith silver for jewelry. He, in turn, taught his sons and other Navajos.
Another silversmith, Atsidi Chon, went to Zuni in 1872, where he taught Lanyade how to work silver. Other men in turn taught silversmithing in the 1870s to men in Acoma, Laguna, and Isleta.
One of the earliest forms of silver jewelry that the Navajo made were "conchos", also called "conchas", worn on leather belts. The form derives from Ute conchos that were worn as hair ornaments or long drops hanging from belts. By the late 19th century, the Navajo began to set stone in the conches. These belts went on to become iconic and they continue to be made today.
The earliest concho belts were made out of hammered coin silver. Their designs progress through stages, beginning with an oval shape that was scalloped on the edges, elementary stamping and chiseling. The center of the First Phase concho was an open diamond or oval and the back had a copper loop through which a leather belt could pass.
As time went on, the designs became more elaborate. Note the Navajo concho belt that is pictured to the left: The center of the concho is now pushed out through repousse' work and the center of the concho is closed. In addition, a fine turquoise square stone has been added to the center. The concho is backed in some instances such as this with a leather backing.
The railroads arrived in the Southwest in the 1880s. The Fred Harvey Company opened shops in the railroad stations and provided a ready market for Navajo silver. As a result, silver smithing flourished and designs were elaborated, often reflecting Anglo taste. The concho belt to the left has arrows that are intricately worked into the design, an example of some of the high-quality Fred Harvey jewelry that was offered.
Concho belts continue to be worn and valued by the Navajo and Anglos alike. Quality work continues into contemporary times with a continuation and development of traditional designs. The belt to the left has beautiful repousse', wirework, and quality turquoise stones. It is hard to definitively date it.
During the Depression through World War II and into the 1950s, the Navajo made concho belts that were not on leather, perhaps because of a shortage of leather. They are made out of sterling silver. They were made for sale. Most women had small waists at that time; thus many people wear this style as a necklace today.