Indian Silver Jewelry

Description

Now more than ever it is important to be a cautious and educated buyer.  The digital age and globalization have opened up a whole new world of pitfalls but it is definitely possible to avoid most of them and to learn how to judge the quality of the work: how to tell the difference between handmade and machine made.   This course will introduce you to the history of Indian Jewelry, the artists, early traders and dealers and how the interest in Indian jewelry has been both celebrated and exploited over the years.  There will be an optional visit to the Bahti Indian Gallery after the final session of the class.

Presenter:  Mark Bahti, a researcher/author like his father, Tom, he has written a number of books including A Consumer’s Guide to Southwest Indian Art, Collecting Southwest Native American Jewelry, Silver and Stone (profiling dozens of silversmiths).  He is a long-time member of the Tucson Indian Center, serves on the Institute of American Indian Arts’ Foundation Board in Santa Fe and on the Board of Directors for the Amerind Foundation for over a decade.  On the death of his father, Mark took over the Bahti Indian Arts gallery in 1972 (a second shop is in Santa Fe).

2 Tuesdays in March, the 18th and 25th at 9:00 a.m. in the Activity Center’s Hopi Room.