Tribal

The essentials of Navajo culture are woven into every textile they made, even though most were intended for the Anglo market. Continue reading →

Ethnographic specimens, windows on the soul, or harbingers of modern art—tribal artworks have appeared in many ways to Western eyes, as seen in two current museum shows. Continue reading →

Serendipity is the word that comes to mind when I think of my pattern of collecting. I grew up in Indiana, in an environment that wasn’t particularly artistic, and I spent my first decade after college playing the double bass. It wasn’t until I studied arts policy in London in the late 1980s that I became aware of the art-collecting world, and only after working at Bonhams for a few years did I begin to occasionally acquire a painting, sculpture or tribal piece. Continue reading →

It was with good reason that the Portuguese, who in 1471 began trading with the Akan-speaking people of West Africa, gave the name “the Gold Coast” to the region today known as Ghana. Gold was both the spiritual and material foundation of the region, where vast quantities of the precious metals were mined from the rich forest soil between the Volta and Ankobra rivers. Continue reading →

In two widely separated spots on the globe—Central America and Southeast Asia—two ancient civilizations created vast temple complexes that express a strikingly similar sense of man’s place in the universe. Continue reading →

The bobcat knows secrets. The crow is the keeper of sacred law. The frog brings rain. The Zuni knew these things and made carvings, called fetishes, to help them access this other world. (The word “fetish” comes from the Portuguese feitiço, meaning “made by art.”) For collectors, Zuni fetishes are beautiful, highly sought after and small—most fit easily in the palm of the hand. Continue reading →