MARKET REPORT
We ask leading dealers of historic and contemporary Native American art what their thoughts are on the market and where it might be headed.
Native American art activity is thriving in
Scottsdale, Arizona. Numerous collector-quality
Navajo rugs and famous-artist gold jewelry have been placed in 2019. Main Street Indian art dealers are daily signaling a return of high-end collectors. Perhaps it’s the improved economy.
Basketry continues to lag, although prime Apache specimens remain in high demand. Pueblo pottery, under tutelage of King Galleries, continues to thrive and reach new heights. How much better can pottery get besides larger and smaller, even micro? We think it will.
Wall art in the Native American community is relatively sparse on Scottsdale gallery walls these days, except for Navajo textiles in vintage, traditional and contemporary motifs [which are] all selling well.
Older Indian jewelry continues to draw collectors toward famous early 1900s silver masters like Juan de Dios and Fred Peshlakai. A handful of Scottsdale Indian gallery owners are among the foremost experts in the vintage Indian jewelry community.
Fast rising is the natural turquoise gemstone market—cabochon with spiderweb and pyrite crystals (fool’s gold) are popular. While America experiences a shortage of turquoise miners and production (most mines now depleted), foreign sources are filling the gap. Don’t get me wrong. The surge in demand for natural turquoise is real, worldwide and growing in strength. While curio markets expand with synthetic (treated) turquoise slags, most current-day attention is focused on the natural turquoise gem. The less there is, the more interest there seems to be.
One up-and-coming turquoise artist is Navajo silversmith Craig Agoodie. His use of natural turquoise is enhanced by the incredible bezels (cups) he fashions for his high-grade turquoise cabochon. Starting with silver beads, Craig quickly converts the beads into ingot (melted sterling) and hammers his bezels into shape, chiseling deep lines and filing each twice, creating sparkling “merlons.” This unique silver “sparkle” enhances and beautifies the collectible turquoise he uses.