Trailing the Fairs in Santa Fe

SANTA FE, N.M.—The Wall Street bear made it to Santa Fe this month, where not all visitors to the Ethnographic Art Show (August 10–12) and the Historic Indian & World Tribal Arts show (August 9–12) were in the buying mood. But if these two fairs are any indication, economic downturns do not affect all markets equally. Will Channing, a Santa Fe dealer in American Indian art who did not exhibit at either fair, summed up the differences between the two: “The Ethnographic fair brings in shoppers, the Indian & World Tribal Arts fair attracts serious collectors.”

And what does this difference mean in terms of sales? Well, at a time when collectors may think twice, somehow shoppers still manage to buy.

No Vetting, But Selling
Now in its 24th year, the Ethnographic Art Show is popular for its casual market atmosphere and wide range of material—with items on sale ranging from William Spratling silver and Bakelite jewelry to pre-Columbian sculpture and textiles and Asian art. Held at El Museo Cultural de Santa Fe, the fair caters to buyers in all price ranges. The show is not vetted, so buyers beware, but a number of treasures can be found.

One highlight of the show is its offerings in Spanish Colonial art, an area in which good material is increasingly hard to come by, due, in part, to the stringent laws in Latin American countries prohibiting its export. Fortunately for collectors, however, a good deal of this work has been in the United States for a long time. Such was the case with a stunning 18^th-century silver altarpiece from Peru on the stand of Disenos Art & Antiques of Santa Fe, with an asking price of $120,000. By the end of the fair, the work had been reserved by two California collectors.

The same booth also showed a pair of magnificent 19^th-century painted wooden angels from Mexico, priced at $19,500.

Morning Star Traders of Tucson offered Spanish Colonial furniture, including a pair of Imperial Republic of Peru chairs decorated with Habsburg eagles from 1830–40. In need of restoration, the pair was priced at $14,500.  

Throckmorton Fine Art of New York had a great show, selling many pieces, including a Chinese Bi-Disk from the Neolithic period, ca. 3500–2000 BC, made of green and red jade.

Paul Shepard, the owner of Primitive Arts gallery in Tucson, had a wonderful pre-Columbian Nazca feathered poncho from the southern coast of Peru, dating from the 6th to 8th century. A black, white, and green checkerboard border surrounds a central rectangular yolk, which is half orange, half green. The poncho is in excellent condition and priced at $48,000.

Shepard also showed an intriguing group of 15^th-century Chicu miniature ceramic tiles from the southern Peruvian highlands, which were painted with abstract, zoomorphic, and geometric designs, and priced at $400 to $500 apiece.

Sluggish Present, Future in Doubt
Held at the Shellaberger Tennis Center at the College of Santa Fe, the Historic Indian & World Tribal Arts show, with its emphasis on antique American Indian art, is much larger than its Santa Fe competitor in terms of the size of the space. Not only can exhibitors bring larger works than they can to Ethnographic, but the show is vetted. Steve Berger, the owner of Arte Textil in San Francisco, says that he “wouldn’t have felt as good about exhibiting at the Ethnographic Show because a lot slips by when a show is not vetted.”

Although attendance was significantly down from previous years, some dealers said they sold to major collectors on the opening night. Mark Blackburn, a collector and dealer based in Hawaii, said that he “bought more Polynesian art that night than he ever bought before in Santa Fe.”

Exhibitor Thomas Murray of Mill Valley, Calif., said it was “risky for dealers outside of the pre-Columbian and American Indian world to exhibit at the show.” Nevertheless, he reported selling to “expert collectors” including John Friede, who bought Polynesian material. In 2005, Friede and his wife Marcia announced plans to give their extraordinary collection of New Guinean art to the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

Joel Cooner Gallery of Dallas showed the largest known example of Ngende/Nkutchu currency (Oshele). Made of forged iron in the Congo in the 19^th century, the $48,000 piece, says Cooner, “is the finest on the planet, except for one in the [Museum of Fine Arts], Houston.” Cooner also displayed a baseball catcher’s uniform from the 1930s that was priced at $3,500.