INDIAN MARKET - SANTA FE - 2024 - Part 5

INDIAN MARKET - SANTA FE 2024 part 5

CACAPHONY

By W H Inmon

You can’t image all that is for sale at Indian Market….

FOR SALE - Earrings. Necklaces. Bracelets. Rings, Pendants. Pots. Vests. Shirts. Turquoise. Coral. Silver. Drums. Dancing. Costumes.? Moccasins. Art. Cradleboards. Rings. Deer skin pouches. Looms. Shawls. Drum sticks. Wallets. Purses. Mats. Medicine bags. Breastplates. Chokers. Sculpture. Hats. Beaded hats. Gloves. Food. Water. Peace pipes. Clothes. Carvings. Rawhide. Beadwork. A beaded motorcycle. Dancing and drumming in the street. Beaded moccasins. Women’s belts. Men’s belts. Tie downs. ?Children‘ s toys. Beaded hair barettes. Holsters.? Blankets. Weavings. Shawls. Photographs. Picture frames. Mirrors. Rugs. Wooden tables. Brooches. ?Hair pieces. ?Combs. Story tellers. Pottery – Santa Clara, Acoma, San Ildefonso, Pojaoque, Tesuque, Chimayo, San Juan, Santo Domingo. Feathers. Beaded tennis shoes. Belts. Conch belts. Money belts. Knives. Pottery plates. Headdresses. Hat bands. Water carriers. Kitchen ware. Fur. T shirts. Cuff links. Medicine bundle. Bolo ties. Men’s ties. Beaded walking sticks. Painted jewelry boxes.? Expensive. Inexpensive. ?Credit card. Cash only. For trade. Discounted.

And there are people everywhere…..

PEOPLE - Chinese. Indian. Anglo. Hispanic. African American. ??? Young. Old. Policemen and policewomen. Homeless. ?Working girls. Bank presidents, Pretty. Plain. Short. Tall. Slender. Husky. In a wheel chair. In a walker. In a baby carriage. Out in the sun. In the shade. Sitting. Walking. Talking. Silent. Smiling. Scowling. In a hurry. Relaxed. Selling. Buying. Loud. Quiet. Straight. Gay. Ambling. Dawdling. Casually dressed. Formally dressed. Winner of a beauty pageant. Shirtless. In shorts. In Levi’s. In the shade. In the sun. Hot. Wearing a conch belt. Wearing an old style conch belt. Silver flashing. Silver patina.???

…and all of this happens all at once. All at the same time. Like a three ring circus magically appearing out of the dust overnight.? Like the water lifting Noah to the surface – one minute on land and the next minute on the sea. The whole thing just magically happens. All at once.

Absolutely amazing how it happens.

The salmon are running and the bear and the eagles are feasting.

There is so much for sale in so many places at the same time that it would be impossible to look at every table or exhibit. Simply physically impossible. Some items are negotiable. Some are not. As a rule the more expensive the item the more negotiation there may be.

At the earliest hour, shoppers have the best selection and the highest prices. The shoppers in the last hour find that prices magically go down but there is less selection.

(Here I go on a rant. Please excuse me if this is inappropriate.)

As far as taste is concerned, I have always loved the old, the authentic, the original jewelry and conches. It is what I grew up with and once that was all that there was at Indian Market. But today you see all of these knock offs. Stamped, machine made jewelry. Pottery made with machine assists. The knockoffs are not for sale by the Indians. But the Indians are surrounded by the city of Santa Fe where indeed the knockoffs are definitely for sale. ?I really don’t like the machine made stuff. It just looks cheap and tacky to me. Call me a snob but I like what I grew up with for 65 years and I have a right to my tastes. Each year there is less and less of the “old” jewelry and conches. I recognize that there is a limited supply of the old stuff and it gets grabbed up every year.? Ten years from now there will hardly be any of the old style jewelry anywhere at any price. It will just be gone.

And truthfully some of the new stuff is actually very nice. But what is missing in most new Indian crafts is that handmade, one of a kind look. That is what I miss the most. The new stuff is just too perfect, too shiny and garish. No patina. No character. Give me an old squash blossom or an old sandcast belt with patina any day.? Let me see the makers mark on the piece – imperfections and all. Now that is what is beautiful. That is the way it should be.

What I don’t like are –

??? Plastic beads made to look like bone or stone beads

?? Turkey feathers made to look like eagle feathers

?? Bright silver jewelry with no patina

?? Fake turquoise

?? Machine stamped jewelry of any kind

?? The same item mechanically replicated over and over

So that is what Indian Market is really like.

Maybe I am a snob after all.

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Bill Inmon lives in Denver with his wife and his two Scotty dogs – Jeb and Lena. Even though Jeb and Lena are well fed and cared for and are having a good time playing with other dogs, they will be happy to see Bill and his wife tomorrow night.

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