We all love Ebay, BUT . . . . you better be a Savvy Collector about your target purchases !!!
I just typed in the search box “Hopi basket”. Up popped 26 baskets for sale titled “Hopi basket” on the first page. Of the 26, six (6) were not made by a Hopi, nor were any of the six (6) made by a North American Indian. That is more than 20% that were NOT Hopi baskets.
How do I know ???
- wrong plants used to make it
- wrong design characteristics
- wrong basketry starts
Start purchasing from an informed dealer, then read books on the topic, attend museum exhibitions and tribal art shows. You can learn this stuff. The informed dealers didn’t start out with knowledge. They pursued it.
AFTER you become a Savvy Collector, then you can shop in auctions, antique malls, estate sales, etc. without supervision.
Corinne Cain of www.SavvyCollector.com
P.S. I wrote to a couple of the not so Hopi basket sellers on Ebay to let them know about their misattributed baskets. Even if they are unintentionally misidentifying these baskets, the purchaser still will end up with something that is not a Hopi basket. And yes, one of these baskets had several bids on it.