Quick Takes July 2009

Antiques Roadshow has been wild as in late June and July we have traveled through Raleigh, North Carolina, Madison, Wisconsin, and Denver, Colorado. In Raleigh the Asian appraisers found the most expensive objects ever appraised on the show. The Chinese jade collection, which was appraised by Jimmy Callaghan of Skinner's, Boston was estimated at $700,000 and $1,700,000. Raleigh will be featured as the lead off show for Season's 14's schedule in early January of 2010.


In the June Newsletter we published the article "Whose Data Is It?" which was a description of two Guy Van Rijn databases that now are operated by the Yale Archive and Danster Research. I promised an update and some interviews. We contacted James Ross who is a major collector of African art and was responsible for much of the funding for the Yale Archive. Mr. Ross referred me to Jock Reynolds who is the director of the Yale University Art Gallery. We haven't heard back from Mr. Reynolds. The blog also contacted Guy Van Rijn, who indicated that there were some changes in the works at the Yale Archive but that he expected to continue in an advisory position. We will continue to pursue this.



August is almost upon us and it is the season of Indian market in Santa Fe. Dealers are excited and upbeat but wary about what this important two weeks will mean for business. It is all about whether people will stay away or if they do come will they keep their hands in their pockets. The Sweeney Covention Center has been remodeled, renamed and is ready to go for both the Ethnographic and Antique American Indian exhibitions. The schedule is as follows: The Ethnographic Art Show, the 26th annual staging, will run Saturday and Sunday, August 15 and 16, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with a preview opening on Friday, August 14, 2009 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM.The 31st annual Antique Indian Art Show will have a preview opening on Monday, August 17, 2009 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, followed by shows on Tuesday and Wednesday, August 18 and 19, 2009 from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM. There will also be auctions, local dealers, and collectors coming in for the contemporary Indian show August 22nd and 23rd. We will let you know how it goes.




ATADA (American tribal Art Dealers Association) does a very good job in listing stolen and recovered art objects. To ensure that you don't buy anything that doesn't have clear title periodically check this site: http://www.atada.org/theft.html . Remember in the US being a good faith purchaser is not enough to protect you from losing the object and your money.






Recently another site was discovered in Northern Peru revealing the 1500 year old tomb of the the Lord of Ucupe. The figure was wearing two funerary masks, a necklace of silver medallions, and a tunic and train of metallic plates. In the tomb archaeologists also found 19 headdresses, on a bed of war clubs.










There some amazing museum exhibitions in the U.S. and and U.K this summer and fall. 1. British Museum, London Moctezuma: Aztec Ruler 24 September 2009 - 24 January 2010 2. Metropolitan Museum, New York: Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul 23 June 2009 - 20 September 2009 3. Metropolitan Museum, New York: A Legacy of Collecting: African and Oceanic Art (Barbier Mueller Coll, Geneva) 4.