ATADA Appraisals Page
Appraisals of Antique Tribal Art
In early 2008, the IRS conducted a set of highly publicized, simultaneous raids on art museums and premises of art professionals in Southern California and elsewhere. People have been coming to ATADA for advice on appraisals more frequently ever since these events. The raids have raised public awareness, but so far, no changes in laws or IRS regulations have resulted. The most recent changes in IRS regulations, with new rules on appraisals and appraiser qualifications and new penalties for overvaluation, were announced in April, 2007. At the request of ATADA President, Thomas Murray, we have created here an introduction to the subject of Antique Tribal Art appraisals. This introduction is based on the regulations of the IRS in force at the time of writing. For definitive information, seek professional advice.
Appraising Antique Tribal Art is typically a highly specialized task. There are two major parts to this task –
1) determining the identification of the piece and assuring that it is not a fake; and
2) determining the value of the piece.
Because of the paucity of comparable objects and documented recent sales, both can be difficult.
Many methods of valuation are in common use. Appraisals are required for many purposes. Examples include appraisals to determine the insured value of objects or appraisals to determine the value of an object to be used for tax purposes. Or perhaps a buyer wants some indication of the value of his object for determining a future course of action. Your appraiser will suggest a method of valuation appropriatefor the purpose of the appraisal.
We cannot overemphasize the complexity of identifying the object and determining that it is not a fake. This is a highly specialized arena. No one human being can be an expert in all the highly specialized venues that appear in the arena of Antique Tribal Art. Nothing substitutes for experience and expert judgment. Even the most "highly qualified appraiser" may need to consult with and quote judgments by one or more specialized experts depending on the piece, its origin, and its provenance. The issues of the condition of the object and its provenance require similar expertise. Note also that even fakes or replicas have value. In some cases, the value of replicas can be significant and requires expert judgment.
In most cases, the appraiser must see the objects being appraised in person. Photographs are likely not sufficient for the purposes of a professional appraisal. The IRS may put lower confidence in an appraisal that is done from photographs. The factor of geographical location of the object(s) and the appraiser can complicate the logistics of obtaining an appraisal and can strongly affect the cost of the appraisal.
In Publication 561, the IRS has tried to quantify appraisal requirements in the highly publicized arena of charitable donations. We have copied Publication 561 from the IRS web site on October 14, 2008 to make it available to you here. Anyone considering having an object or collection appraised for tax purposes should read an up-to-date version of this publication before committing to pay the appraisal fee and any costs involved. Most insurance companies, for example, do not have such formal requirements for appraisals as those of the IRS for evaluating objects to be insured. These requirements depend both on the value of the object and also on the insurance company. Check with your insurance agent before committing to any appraisal for insurance purposes.
IRS Publication 561 entitled "Determining the Value of Donated Property" is concerned with the issue of valuing the objects appraised. The IRS specifies in Publication 561 that, of the many valuation methods used depending on the purpose of theappraisal, Fair Market Value is to be used for charitable donations. The IRS is primarily concerned with overvaluation. (The issue of undervaluation is usually very important and must also be carefully considered by the appraiser and the client.) The issue of how to identify the object(s) and how to assure that it is (they are) not fake is not addressed by Publication 561. However, Publication 561 also spells out some items that should be included in any appraisal of objects of art including "A history of the item, including proof of authenticity." The written appraisal should clearly spell out the steps taken to authenticate the piece.
The IRS put forward some qualifications that it will consider in the appraisal. Certification of the appraiser by a professional organization (organization not specified) is highly recommended. But even this is vague. College level course work (how much and what subjects not specified) can substitute. In the words of Publication 561, "The appraiser's opinion is never more valid than the facts on which it is based; without these facts it is simply a guess." Thus the facts about comparable values and sales should be clearly stated in written appraisals no matter what is the source. The value of the appraiser to his client is highly dependent on the appraiser's skill and diligence in digging out information on comparables once the task of identification and condition determination has been completed.
It is up to the client to choose an appraiser who is well matched to the complexity of the task. If you want an appraisal for purposes of a charitable donation and a tax deduction is desired, it is appropriate to choose an appraiser who has adequate skill and experience for this task and who will follow the letter of the requirements put forth in IRS Publication 561.
You and your appraiser should carefully consider the large penalties for overvaluation spelled out in Publication 561. In the case that adequate comparables are not available, you may need to consult with a tax attorney. (Exception: If you donate an object valued $50,000 or more, you can request a Statement of Value for that item from the IRS that will protect the donor. See Publication 561, page 4 for details.)
We live in a changing world. There is no such thing as an "official appraisal" . There are only guidelines issued by the IRS and various appraisal groups such as ASA that are mutually incompatible in some details. There is no such thing as a fully accredited appraiser whose valuation will be accepted without question by the IRS. Mom and Pop gallery owners can still do appraisals, but likely will need to take some appraisal course work in order to perform charitable donation appraisals for the IRS. Those appraisals in which the appraiser takes responsibility for the valuation and clearly demonstrates how it is derived from facts of past public sales will have the best chance of being approved by the IRS.
No appraisal should be considered as a form of guarantee as to what an object would sell for at public auction or on the open market. The market changes with the economy, with new purchasers entering the field and others bowing out, and for many other reasons. Practically every auction of tribal art contains objects that sell for many multiples of their high estimate and other objects that do not meet minimal reserves, or sell for a quite low number. The fact that two or three similar objects sold within a price range in the recent past is not to be considered an assurance that the similar object that is being appraised will sell in the same price range.
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We present here the list of ATADA Full Members who perform appraisals - with their geographical location and their areas of specialization - separated into three categories:
1) Specialized Member Appraisers (Credentials Listed):2) Member Dealer/Appraisers (Credentials Listed):3) Member Dealer/Appraisers without Explicit Appraiser Organization Credentials:
(Sorted by Country, then State, then City, then Member Surname, then Member Firstname
1) Specialized Member Appraisers (Credentials Listed):
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Modern and Contemporary Art. On-site inspection, photography, research and analysis, certified report. |
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| Credentials: Passed the Uniform Code of Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice examination as required by the Federal Appraisal Foundation, Washington, D.C. and administered by the American Society of Appraisers and the International Society of Appraisers. He has continuously produced professional reports for insurance, tax deductible donations, estates, claims arbitration, and division of property settlements. with values at times in the millions of dollars. He is an associate and advisor to several general personal property appraisers nationwide. He has completed countless appraisals of major gifts of art to public institutions, all accepted by the Art Advisory Panel of the IRS. Uniquely qualified, Mr. Ghent is a nationally recognized expert in the Art of Africa, Oceania, and The Americas, as well as Modern and Contemporary Art. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic and contemporary artifacts, baskets, beadwork, bultos, ephemera, jewelry, katsinas, paintings, photographs, pottery, prints, retablos, santos, sculptures, and textiles; with expertise in Cowboy, Catlin, Curtis, Remington, Russell, f/64, Kiowa Five, Los Cinco Pintores, Prairie Print Makers, Regional, Dorthy Dunn and Rio Grande Schools, Taos Society Artists, and other fine Native, Western, and Southwestern artists. |
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| Credentials: IRS Qualified Appraiser; International Society of Appraisers Accredited Member, Fine Art; USPAP Certificate; Former Academic and Curator. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic and contemporary artifacts, baskets, beadwork, bultos, ephemera, jewelry, katsinas, paintings, photographs, pottery, prints, retablos, santos, sculptures, and textiles; with expertise in Cowboy, Catlin, Curtis, Remington, Russell, f/64, Kiowa Five, Los Cinco Pintores, Prairie Print Makers, Regional, Dorthy Dunn and Rio Grande Schools, Taos Society Artists, and other fine Native, Western, and Southwestern artists. |
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| Credentials: IRS Qualified Appraiser; International Society of Appraisers Accredited Member, Fine Art; USPAP Certificate; Former Curator. |
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2) Member Dealer/Appraisers (Credentials Listed):
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| Appraisal Specialties: Fine Arts as well as Native American Arts (newly morphed to American Indian Art a month ago) |
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| Credentials: ASA Accredited Senior AppraiserDesignated by the American Society of Appraisers in two disciplinesFine Arts as well as Native American Arts (newly morphed to American Indian Art a month ago) |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Chinese & Southeast Asian antiquities, ceramics and works of art; Japanese netsuke, inro and related items. Indian and Himalayan Works of Art. |
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| Credentials: Marsha Vargas Handley, ASA - Senior Member, American Society of Appraisers in Asian Art.In compliance with all accreditation requirements of the American Society of Appraisers. Comprehensive appraisal services for over 30 years for insurance, charitable donations and probate/estate purposes in Asian art. Donation appraisals have been prepared for various museums including Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, Sackler, Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Art Institute.Iwona Tenzing, AM, Accredited Member International Society of Appraisers is located in the San Francisco gallery and specializes in Himalayan and Indian art. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: African Art |
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| Credentials: Maura Kropke, Member, International Society of Appraisers |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Ancient Classical Archaeology, Pre Columbian and African Tribal art |
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| Credentials: I am a member of the AAA here in NYC. I took the USPAP course at NYU and handle all types of appraisal reports from fair market value to IRS donations. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique North American Indian pottery, basketry, jewelry, textiles, beadwork, Kachinas, art of the Northwest Coast and Inuit. Member of the Appraisers Association of America. By appointment only. |
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| Credentials: Member of the Appraisers Association of America. |
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3) Member Dealer/Appraisers without Explicit Appraiser Organization Credentials:
(Sorted by Country, then State, then City, then Member Surname, then Member Firstname
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| Appraisal Specialties: Specific areas of market and estate evaluation include; 18th and 19th century Northeast Native carved and practical items, Candian folk art and portraiture, Canadian furniture (emphasizing pre-industrial periods).Appraisals have been performed by referral from private and public sources, including: The Canadian National Portrait Gallery, Ottawa, Canada. Please contact me at my e-mail: blemora@muskoka.com. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Ancient tribal art from Africa, Oceania and North America including art from the North West Coast, Alaska and the Southwest (Kachina dolls.) |
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| Appraisal Specialties: I can appraise jewelry. Especially the origin of turquoise. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Navajo, Zuni, Hopi and Santo Domingo jewelry, both contemporary and pre-1940. Also baskets, Navajo rugs, Pueblo pottery and Hopi Kachinas. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Indian jewelry and Antique Indian baskets from California or Arizona. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique American Indian art, with an emphasis on Southwestern jewelry,textiles and basketry and Eastern Woodlands beadwork. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Navajo, Pueblo and Hispanic textiles and Spanish colonial arts |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Hopi and Zuni Kachinas, Navajo weavings, early jewelry, baskets, paintings and pottery from the Southwest. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Historic Southwest material and Pre-Columbian |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Appraisals of Southwest Indian Arts including baskets, jewelry, textiles, pottery, Kachinas. The Neals are invited Appraisers at the semi-annual Heard Museum Appraisal Days and are entering their 40th year in the Indian Arts field with experience in antique baskets of the Southwest, Navajo Indian textiles, turquoise jewelry, Hopi Kachinas and Pueblo pottery. Professional appraisals for insurance and estate purposes. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Native American Basketry: California, Northwest, Great Basin, and Southwest. Native American Textiles: Navajo Blankets and Navajo Rugs. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Fine Antique Native American items, including beadwork, baskets, pottery, Katsinas, Navajo weavings, jewelry, pre-Columbian art and Arizona/Western paintings. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-1940s Navajo weavings, Apache and Pima basketry, and 19th century Plains Indian material. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Colombian/Ancient and Colonial Andean Textiles; Historical Latin American Textiles and Ethnography; Mapuche Textiles and Jewelry from Chile and Argentina; African Textiles: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, West Africa, South Africa; Noted Specialist in Kuba and early Congo textiles; Bark paintings, Basketry, Fiber Arts; African and South American Beadwork; Cambodian and Laotian Textiles, South East Asia; Ikats from around the world |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American Indian Baskets. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: North American Indian and Pre-Columbian art, primarily West Coast regions. Old world antiquities. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: All areas of North American Native American art and artifacts. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: North American Indian art specializing in quality California basketry. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Indonesian tribal sculptures and textiles; trade cloth from India and other non western art from Asia, Africa and South-America. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Columbian, African Art. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American Indian, Spanish Revival, California Plien Air, Monterey Furniture, American Art Pottery. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Native American Indian Art of North America (300 BC - 20th century): Textiles, Ceramics, Baskets, Wood, Beadwork, etc. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Navajo textiles, old pawn jewelry, historic southwestern pottery, southwestern baskets. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: 19th century beadwork, textiles, pottery and Northwest Coast objects as well as pre-1940's textiles and pottery |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic American Indian art and artifacts. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Textiles of the American Southwest: Navajo,Pueblo,Rio Grande, Saltillo |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American Indian pottery, jewelry, baskets, textiles and beadwork. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic beadwork, quillwork and weapons. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Art of the Americas, the ancient world, the Pacific, Africa and Asia. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Hopi katsinam, baskets, and objects of material culture. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: The art of the NorthwestCoast, Eskimo, Eastern Woodland Tribesand Plains Indians. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic Native American art, specializing in material from the Plains, Prairie and Great Lakes. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American regional paintings, native American antique art, and American antiques. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique American Indian, Oceanic, African, Inuit and Northwest Coast art, specializing in weapons from each culture. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Native American and Southwestern Textiles and Historic Pueblo Pottery. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: All types of Native American and New Mexican arts and crafts 1800 to 1950. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic Native American and Hispanic textiles of the Southwest. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: New Mexican Santos, Tinwork, and Furniture;Navajo and Pueblo Jewelry and Weavings |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American Indian ,Eskimo, African, Oceania, Australian Aboriginal - Insurance and Valuation Appraisals only--no IRS Donation Appraisals |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Offering contemporary and historic American Indian textiles, jewelry, pottery, basketry, sculpture, fine art and mid-century modern furnishings. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: All types of American Indian Art, with a specialization in Plains material |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Appraisals and especially identifications and curatorial type work. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Early Pueblo and Navajo jewelry, Navajo weavings and Hopi Kachinas. I am a collector and dealer in masks and folk art from Latin America, Africa and Nepal. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Native American basketry |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Kachinas ,Plains All kinds of American Indian art. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Plains bead work, firearms and Native American weapons. Free appraisals. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: 19th & 20th Century American Art, specializing in Taos Society of Artists, Santa Fe Arts Colony, and art of the American West. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: All areas of antique Native American art, including beadwork,pottery, baskets, textiles, and jewelry. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Columbian ceramics, metal and stone; Spanish colonial paintings, silver and sculpture; Latin American and ethnographic art. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Buddhist art and antiquities, textiles, tribal art and rare books since 1978. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Southwest American Indian pottery, Katsinas and jewelry, especially Nampeyo and Charles Loloma. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Fine North American Indian antiquities, with an emphasis on historic Plains material. Also, offering Pueblo pottery, Navajo weavings and American paintings |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Pre-Columbian Art of the Andes and Taino from the Caribe. By appointment only. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Ancient Alaskan art and artifacts, antique Northwest Coast art, Inuit art emphasizing the sought after early sculptures from the 1950's and 1960's. Appraisals for museums. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: antique Native American basketry, textiles, pottery, and jewelry, along with name-maker period jewelry from Taxco Mexico, Appraisals for insurance purposes.. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Native American Art |
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| Appraisal Specialties: 18th and 19th century Plains, Great Lakes, Woodlands, Inuit and North West Coast American Indian art. Historic baskets, pottery, jewelry, guns, folk art and paintings. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Native American and colonial art of the frontier period. We are interested in shields, drums, weavings, clothing and painted and sculptural objects made for Native use. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic Eskimo/Inuit objects (18th, 19th and early 20thcentury) from Alaska and Canada, made of wood, walrus ivory, bone, hide,stone and related native materials. For examples of Eskimo/Inuitobjects see the Splendid Heritage website at www.splendidheritage.comunder "Eskimo" or "Fry Collection." |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Artifacts from 19th and early 20th century, Eskimo, Inuit, Northwest Coast and surrounding areas. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Plains and Plateau beadwork, basketry, Zuni and Navajo jewelry, reservation beadwork, Plateau bags, weavings, tempera paintings, Native American photographs and postcards. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: American Indian basketry, Plateau bags and beadwork. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Old American Indian and Eskimo items andsome other tribal arts. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Native American baskets and Plateau bags--corn husk and beaded bags. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: jewelry, both contemporary and antique, ceramics, weavings, paintings. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Antique Native American beadwork, jewelry, weaving, pottery, baskets, Kachinas and paintings. New Mexico, Hispanic religious furniture and weavings. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic and prehistoric Native American Art and Artifacts |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Northwest coast, Eskimo, Northwest basketry, and Plateau bead work. |
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| Appraisal Specialties: not specified |
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| Appraisal Specialties: Historic and Pre-Historic American Indian but can also give appraisals to most areas of Tribal Arts ( African , Oceanic ,etc ) . Also have knowledge of American Folk Art. |
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