Happy New Year!

I hope you have a wonderful New Year's day and that 2009 is happy and successful!

Eskimo Soapstone

Friday, a slug of Inuit soapstone sculptures walked in the door. Well, I guess they did not actually "walk"... more like lumbered...

Regardless, this has been an area of American Indian art that has been slowly growing on me. I used to not think much about these sculptures, but the more I see, the more intereresting they become. Carved in the round, the subjects vary from comical, to everyday arctic life scenes, to marine and avian wildlife. Even more interesting, the semingly "off balance" look of some carvings only supports the ablity of the artist to see design in a non-conventional shape. Even the older pieces have a contemporary but organic quality that I am really starting to enjoy.

By the way - these pictures are just a sampling... and I never claimed to be a photographer, as you are finding out...

Closing in on 2009

I have to say, it has been an interesting, slightly volatile year. As with all years, there are the slopes, valleys, and catwalks that we ski through. Hopefully 2009 will bring, with the guidance of our new president, an upswing and stabilization in the economy.

But with all that said, art is art and will continue to be a bright spot in our lives. We have seen some pretty neat things this year - which I would like to share! (And I know - this is not all Indian stuff!)

William Louis Sonntag (American, 1822-1900)

Handel Lamp with Egyptian Ruins Shade #6004

1930 Packard 733 Club Sedan

Western Great Lakes Catlinite "Monster" Pipe Bowl and Stem,

ps. to view the complete records on these pieces, you will have to log into the website... sorry.

A Geronimo Bow Case, Quiver, and Arrows Collected at the St. Louis World's Fair

ca 1904
thread-sewn using colors of red white-heart, white, dark blue, pink, greasy yellow, and light blue glass seed beads; edged with red wool; signed Geronimo in blue ink on hide, length of case 27"; PLUS sinew-backed bow with red painted detailing and sinew string, length 42"; AND six arrows with painted details and iron points, average length 26".

Accompanying the bow is a handwritten note stating provenance: Made by daughter 16 yrs old/ given 1904/ Geronimo archery contest used this bow/ given to Navajo/ traded to M Stark for turquoise; AND Land Stakes an autobiography of Herbert A. Stark.

Stark discusses in chapter 4 of Land Stakes, his time working as a guide at the Saint Louis World's Fair. There, he became acquainted with many famous personalities including Teddy Roosevelt. In one of his final paragraphs of this chapter, Stark describes a Navajo store that he visited, He was a chief of the Navajos and had a big store room packed with Indian goods... I showed him a gold ring with a turquoise setting... He was willing to swap even... (Stark 51).

And now take a close look at the top arrow tip -- it is bent...

Neat.