Let the Buyer Beware
Welcome To ATADA
An Association of Antique American Indian and Tribal Art Dealers Dedicated to Authenticity and Integrity
While attending a show in 1988, a small group of independent tribal art dealers got together for dinner. The dinner conversation turned to their mutual concern for the apparent and damaging lack of ethical standards for the business at large. From that discussion and those that followed, was born the concept of a professional association of dealers that would provide education for the public and set standards for the trade - an organization of honest and informed sellers that would afford buyers a new and much needed sense of security.
That organization became ATADA, the Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association. As members, we offer buyers a guarantee that objects we sell are as represented regarding age, authenticity and extent of restoration (if any). Furthermore, this guarantee allows buyers a full refund if the object proves to be other than represented. We also ensure that objects have been properly acquired and fall within the restrictions of laws concerning cultural sensitivity. (For a more complete discussion, see http://www.atada.org/bylaws.html).
Replicas and Fakes
Unfortunately, not all sales channels subscribe to the ethical standards of ATADA. There is an ever growing problem of fakes in the Antique and Tribal Art Marketplace. Let's be clear in what is a replica and what is a fake. Replicas of fine art have been produced almost daily since the originals were created. This is an accepted practice worldwide. It is fully ethical and legal in the USA as long as the piece is represented as what it is, a replica, marked with country of origin. Replicas may also be represented as, for example, "Zuni Style" if it is a replica of Zuni Indian art. However, if the country of origin tag is "lost" and/or if the replica is intentionally misrepresented as "American Indian made" or, for example, "Zuni Inlay" and not "Zuni Style Inlay", this is a fake and constitutes fraud fully punishable under the laws of the United States of America.
In the standard contracts of auction houses, "once the hammer falls, you bought it." The buyer has little recourse. Ebay and the auction houses will sometimes help if a piece has been grossly misrepresented., but they are not required to do so under the purchase contract that you sign with them.
There are many dealers who are not knowledgeable about the fakes problem. They simply do not know the difference between replicas and the real thing. Such dealers range from small mom and pop operations to flea market sellers to highly ethical dealers who are operating out of their realm of expertise. Auction houses do not have the staff to eliminate fakes before the sale. There are also a few unethical dealers. In such cases, "let the buyer beware" applies. It is up to the buyer to know what he or she is purchasing and up to the buyer to obtain a written receipt which includes, at least, a description of the item bought which describes the item's material composition, approximate creation date, area of origin, maker, condition, etc. and up to the buyer to obtain a written guarantee of authenticity with return privileges clearly defined. Watch out for the fine print. Many a "Certificate of Authenticity" handed out with American Indian or Tribal Art provides no, or only very limited, guarantee and return privileges, hence is not worth the paper it is printed on.
How to Buy Antique and Tribal Art
Enter ATADA, an association of professional dealers, scholars and institutions providing education for the public and setting standards for the trade in Tribal Art - standards members must accept and adhere to. As such, ATADA is an organization of honest and informed sellers and professionals affording buyers much-needed security in their consultations and purchases. ATADA protects the public in four ways:
1) Insurance - ATADA provides Group Insurance for collections available to Associates and Full Members at attractive rates
2) Education - informing the public about Tribal Art including American Indian Art and the problems of replicas and fakes - this web page is an attempt to educate the public about a few of the possible problems with replicas and fakes
3) Guarantee - all ATADA dealers provide a written description of the condition of a piece, with full disclosure of the degree of restoration, if any, and the following guarantee:: " In the Seller's judgment as a dealer in objects of this kind, the information set out above is accurate. If the Buyer shows that such information is inaccurate in any significant way and offers to return the object to the Seller within one year from today, the Seller will accept the return and offer a full refund, which the Buyer agrees to accept as full satisfaction. The return of the object must be in the same condition as sold. The Seller also guarantees that the Buyer gets good title to the object. If the Buyer's title is questioned and the Seller is promptly so informed by the Buyer, the Seller will either remove any cloud on the title or accept return of the object and give the Buyer a full refund, at the Seller's option. These guarantees extend only from_________________________________ to the Buyer named in this invoice "
4) Vetting - ("vetting" is the process of expert inspection and authentication of pieces of fine art) ATADA will provide vetting of a show at the show promoter's/organizer's request, and will request that the show promoter/organizer remove from sale any pieces that, in the vetters' expert opinion, do not conform to the standards set by the show promoter/organizer including, but not limited to, authenticity, age, degree of restoration, and condition. It is incumbent upon the show promoter/organizer to publicise these standards at the show.
Mistakes happen. Human judgment is required to identify replicas and fakes. Replicas in the marketplace are changing rapidly. Auction houses, including eBay, do not have the staff to eliminate all fakes before sale. The best protection for a buyer is to purchase from a knowledgeable ATADA dealer with an area of specialization that matches the desired art who will provide a written guarantee of condition, authenticity, and right to title of a piece. Such a dealer's livelihood depends precisely on his or her reputation, which, in turn, depends on being right about the art being sold.
For additional advice on how to avoid fakes, we recommend that you check out - http://reviews.ebay.com/How-To-Avoid-Buying-Fake-Native-American-Jewelry and also Paleobree - a free and confidential information service for collectors of tribal art who purchase on the internet.
Imported Jewelry Misrepresented as Authentic Zuni Inlay, May-July, 2007
We found a squash blossom necklace being advertised in the advance sale brochure (lot 66) for the Allard Auction in Santa Fe, NM, August 11, 2007, and another apparently identical piece being offered for sale as lot number 120136836401 on eBay on July 22, 2007. We showed the images to our colleague, Zuni Indian Tony Eriacho, Jr. of Eriacho Arts and Crafts , President of the Council for Indigenous Arts and Culture (CIAC) , and chairman of the Zuni Arts and Crafts Protection Commission, an official commission of the Zuni Tribe. His response was - " I already own two of these necklaces. They are in my fakes display." Here are images provided by Tony followed by an excerpt from his e-mail response. You be the judge as to whether the Allard Auction and eBay items are identical to Tony's pieces.
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Philippine Squash Blossom Necklaces That May Have Been Misrepresented as Zuni Indian Made
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Closeups of Philippine Inlay
In Tony Eriacho's words, " In the side by side view, the one on the left has been (treated to look old and the one on the right is the one that is untreated). Also I took a picture of the hallmark on the back. It may be hard to see the one under the bead area.
" Both are handmade in the Philippines. Both have the ( BY ) hallmark and both can be bought from a supplier in the Phoenix, AZ area for about $250.00 each. They both start out looking like the new piece. But by putting one in a plastic container with a solution mixture of water and bleach and letting it sit for about 5 (minutes) and then removing the piece and letting the piece air dry, it gives it a (patina) that makes it look old."
We note that these Philippine necklaces appear to be replicas of Item 752 attributed to Mary Kallestewa in the C. G. Wallace catalog. This catalog may be the source of inspiration for the ripoff artist.
We believe that 50 or more nearly identical pieces were sold as "Zuni made" on eBay in 2007.
We expect that Allard Auctions will withdraw this lot before the auction or relabel it as Zuni style jewelry and that eBay will take similar action. Note added in proof: neither Allard Auctions nor eBay took any action to stop the sale of these misrepresented items before the hammer fell.
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In late May, 2007, we found two nearly identical bracelets on eBay. Both were listed as Zuni Inlay, not Zuni style. Both were from the same maker, probably Philippine. One was listed as contemporary, the other as from the 60s. We purchased lot number 190113576570 . Images are shown below.
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Imported Bracelet That May Have Been Misrepresented as Zuni Indian Made
It is clear from inspection of the photos that this bracelet is neither old nor Zuni Indian made. We loaned this bracelet to a Gallup, NM Indian Trader who specializes in Zuni Indian Art. This trader showed it to a number of artists and colleagues. He reported that all said "Not Zuni, Offshore, Antiqued" , and some said "possibly Taiwanese" .
We note that this bracelet appears to be a replica of Item 1030 attributed to Lambert Homer in the C. G. Wallace catalog. This catalog may be the source of inspiration for the ripoff artist.
We expect that eBay and the major auction houses will take suitable precautions that these items are not misrepresented in the future.
Antiqued Contemporary Baskets Sold as Old
It has come to our attention that some Mission baskets have appeared on the market. These are very high quality Mission Indian baskets by contemporary basketmakers of good repute that have been treated by a third party to look old. These baskets have fooled some experienced basket dealers (including some ATADA members) and have been sold at auction and in the antique Indian and Tribal Art marketplace at very high prices. We alert collectors and dealers so as not to be taken by this scam. Photos of two antiqued baskets appear below:
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Front and Back of Two Antiqued Contemporary Mission Indian Baskets Recently Misrepresented as Old
ATADA member Walt Anderson, phone: (505) 660-0700, e-mail: metateman@aol.com, has volunteered to authenticate any questionable Mission baskets that you might find.
