Price: 300 €
Or this, lot 92, ape mask "ngon"
Street scene at Indian Market 2008. Artists' Booths line San Francisco Street,Whether or not you believe in man-made global warming – personally, I am an agnostic - it turns out that you may be reducing your impact on the planet by purchasing items online instead of in-person.
The Carnegie Mellon Green Design Institute put together a study that purports to prove that e-commerce not only uses less energy but also reduces the carbon footprint of retailing by one-third vs. bricks-and-mortar retailing.
The team, led by H. Scott Matthews, compared energy consumption and CO2 emissions required to deliver a small thumb drive to a customer via a shopping trip to a store vs. buying and shipping from an online site.
According to the study, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, the highest environmental cost of traditional shopping is the drive by car to the store. (This was based on an estimate of an average shopping round-trip being 14 miles, with three different items purchased on a trip.)
But what about the environmental cost of delivery to you home? The researchers determined that the “last-mile” cost of delivering a package as part of a
Okay, what about the cost of data centers and computers? Well, it turns out that, on average the incremental costs of running data centers and computers, beyond the energy costs that are incurred by businesses tracking inventory and consumers using computers for other tasks, is insignificant.
To be fair, the extra packaging to ship safely adds mare cost than carrying an item home in shopping bag. In addition, using air mail or personalized express shipping options can increase the impact on the environment. On the other hand, using the postal service3 to ship has almost no incremental cost since the time and resources are already being used for normal mail delivery.
There is one way the traditional retailing has less impact on the environment than e-commerce; if you walk to the store. Of course, that seldom applies to shopping for tribal art since so few of us live down he stet from a tribal art gallery.
While we are on the subject of tribal art, let’s reflect on its benign environmental impact.
Very little if any non-renewable energy is used in the making of tribal art. True, some Native American carvers use electrically-driven carving tools. But then they start with natural materials, stone, wood, semi-precious gems, silver, gold and clay with very little energy expended in manufacturing and very little wasted material.
For example, Native American potters create their works the traditional way. They mine the clay by hand. They form it by hand. They fire in pits using wood. They polish by hand with smoothing stones.
Finally, buying tribal art supports a process and practice that has been place for generations, and the artists who were among the first to recognize the importance of honoring Mother Earth.
This report is brought to you by Susanne and William Waites, proprietors of Aboriginals: Art of the First Person, with Web sites at ZuniLink.com, featuring Zuni and other Native American carvings; Native-JewelryLink.com, featuring the finest in Native American Indian jewelry; Native-PotteryLink, featuring handmade Indian pottery from Native Pueblos; and TribalWorks.com, combining triabl art from African, Australian Aboriginal art, Arctic art and Navajo folk art.
We are gratified to be able to bring this outstanding tribal work to your attention, on behalf of the artists (and the planet).
From shoes to shirts to shorts, I want to know if they were made in
I have my own standards about what countries of origin I choose to support with my purchases. I would not ask anyone to make the same decisions. But, I do encourage everyone to be aware of where an item they are buying was made. Then do as you choose.
As far as tribal art is concerned, the same procedure should be followed. It will not be quite as easy because labeling is not as consistent among tribal art objects.
It is, nevertheless, important to try to learn where that object of your artistic affection was created.
Despite laws to the contrary, “Indian-like” items continue to find their way into the
Mind you, this is not to denigrate the artistry of creators in other countries. Just as faux Rolex watches may be fine pieces of work, they are not true Rolexes. Promoting them as such is selling something to buyers that is not what they think it is.
When it comes to tribal art, there is a premium price willingly paid for the pedigree of an item actually made by a tribal member, in a tribal tradition. Whether it’s Native American, African tribal, Inuit or Australian Aboriginal, a copy made to look like a genuine item and represented as such, is a form of theft.
Unfortunately, when a buyer is misled, they may never realize that what they have is a replica, not the real thing. They may even, innocently or knowingly, resell the item with the same erroneous provenance. In the world of fine arts, periodically a Masters painting emerges as having been a copy. Tracking down the original source of the fake can result in some recompense for buyers down the line. It is, however, more difficult to do this in a field where thousands of items come out of the shadows on a regular basis.
So, how can you protect yourself?
First and second, only do business with someone you know, trust and who has a reputation for standing behind what they sell.
Third, ask. Don’t be reluctant to ask the seller up front and forcefully whether or not the item is authentic, where the seller acquired it and if he or she knows its history. If you don’t get a straight answer, be warned.
Fourth, be suspicious of a price that seems too low. Few words are more proven than the old axioms, “you get what you pay for” and “if it seems to good to be true, it probably is.”
Fifth, if you think you are about to be taken, turn to experts. Ask if you can show the item to another authority. And don’t settle for one opinion. Tribal art dealers are notoriously competitive. They are not beyond “trashing” a potential purchase so that they can sell you something instead. Corroborate any opinion.
Sixth, if you do get taken, try to return the item for a refund. If you get a hard time, threaten to go to the BBB or the Indian Arts and Crafts Association or your State’s Attorney General. As a last resort, actually complain to those authorities.
Finally, use the internet to spread the word about fraudulent practitioners. There are a number of Web sites that encourage reviews of quality and service. Just be sure to speak only facts and avoid slams and insults that could lead to a defamation suit.
A few words about signatures.
Signatures are an important way to determine the authenticity of a work of art. Yet, not all artists sign their work. Some do. Some don’t. Antiques often were not signed. Occasionally, a signature is added to look-alike to try to pass it off as the real work of an artist.
Anyone who has watched Antiques Roadshow on Public Television knows how often a Tiffany signed item turns not to be a Tiffany product.
With or without a signature, get a written assurance of the seller as to the origin of the item. Ask for a Certificate of Authenticity. You are entitled to it as part of your purchase.
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A crass commercial notation: At all of our Web sites - ZuniLink.com, Native-JewelryLink.com, Native-PotteryLink.com and TribalWorks.com - we guarantee the authenticity of everything we sell. Our motto is, "It is what we tell you it is or you get your purchase price back when you return it."
