Antique American Indian Art, llc
Specializing in Fine Antique American Indian Art & Artifacts
A Gallery of the Greater Seattle, Washington Region
Gallery / Museum in Oak Harbor, Whidbey Island, WA
Matt Wood's
Antique American Indian Art, LLC Website last updated: April 22, 2025 |
Coming Soon!
Early Man Collection 
Coming Soon
We are processing a massive Private Estate Collection with extensive prehistoric materials and will be posting in our New Acquisition and Prehistoric Artifact pages over the next 2 months! 
The MKL Collection History
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FEATURED ARTIFACT
Navajo sand casting
Navajo sand casting is a traditional jewelry-making technique used by Navajo artisans to create silver and sometimes gold pieces, such as pendants, belt buckles, bolo ties, and rings. Developed in the mid-19th century after Navajos learned silversmithing from Mexican artisans, it became a hallmark of Navajo craftsmanship, blending cultural motifs with technical skill.
Process:
- Mold Creation: A two-part mold is carved from soft, fine-grained materials like volcanic tuff, sandstone, or modern substitutes (e.g., compressed sand). The artisan carves intricate designs—often featuring traditional Navajo symbols like squash blossoms, thunderbirds, or geometric patterns—into one or both halves of the mold.
- Preparation: The mold halves are clamped together, leaving a small opening (sprue) for pouring metal. The mold is dusted with a release agent (like talc) to prevent sticking.
- Metal Pouring: Molten silver (or occasionally gold) is melted in a crucible, often using a forge or torch, and poured into the mold through the sprue. The metal fills the carved design, capturing its details.
- Cooling and Removal: Once the metal cools and solidifies, the mold is opened, and the rough casting is removed. The sprue is cut off, and excess metal is trimmed.
- Finishing: The piece is filed, sanded, and polished to smooth edges and enhance shine. Artisans may add embellishments like stamped designs, stone inlays (e.g., turquoise), or oxidation for contrast.
- Texture and Look: Sand-cast jewelry often has a slightly textured, organic appearance due to the mold’s natural material, distinguishing it from machine-made pieces. The designs are bold and deeply etched, reflecting Navajo aesthetics.
- Uniqueness: Each piece is unique, as molds wear down after a few uses, requiring new carvings. Some molds are single-use, making certain pieces one-of-a-kind.
- Cultural Significance: Designs often carry symbolic meaning, such as protection, fertility, or harmony, rooted in Navajo cosmology and storytelling.
- Sand casting emerged after 1868, when Navajos returned to their homeland from internment at Bosque Redondo and began adapting silversmithing for trade and cultural expression.
- Early artisans like Atsidi Sani pioneered the technique, using tools acquired from Mexican silversmiths and later American traders.
- By the 20th century, sand casting became a staple of Navajo jewelry, with artisans like Kenneth Begay and Mark Chee refining the craft, often combining it with stone inlay or stamping.
- While traditional methods persist, some contemporary Navajo jewelers use modern tools like electric torches or pre-made molds for efficiency.
- Sand-cast pieces remain highly valued in Native American art markets, prized for their authenticity and craftsmanship. Collectors seek works by renowned smiths, identifiable by hallmarks (e.g., initials or symbols).
OUR Mailing / Shipping and Street ADDRESSES
We have moved into our new Gallery and Museum in Oak Harbor, WA and are currently open by appointment only.
Antique American Indian Art, llc - AAIA
Whidbey Island Native Arts Museum - WINAM
Primary Mail:
AAIA, llc
P.O. Box 901
Oak Harbor, WA 98277-9998
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All Box Shipments:
AAIA, llc
50 NE Midway Blvd.
Oak Harbor, WA 98277
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No SALES TAX for non-Washington State Customers
We have been picking up lots of New Acquisitions. Bookmark our page and come back frequently!
We:
- Specialize in North American Indian art and artifacts from the 19th and 20th centuries
- Primarily acquired from private estate collections.
- Serve the Greater Seattle, Washington area with our galleries by appointment only
Using This Site
1. Available Art and Artifacts are under the THE ARTIFACT COLLECTION GALLERY CATALOG Button (top left, under Home)
2. Learn About the Art pages are still being populated although there is a lot there right now to read.
3. Free Appraisals are limited to 1 per person and we do not include stone artifacts or fine art.
4. Additional appraisals, Stone items and Fine Art are only $15 per artifact or artifact group evaluated as 1 lot
5. We offer paid Formal Letterhead Appraisals for insurance and estate purposes at a reasonable cost.
6. We offer Restoration and Cleaning of most Indian art and artifacts. See link above left.
7. Satisfaction is Always Guaranteed with a full money back policy.
8. Shipping is Free for most items. We exclude oversize and international.
2. Learn About the Art pages are still being populated although there is a lot there right now to read.
3. Free Appraisals are limited to 1 per person and we do not include stone artifacts or fine art.
4. Additional appraisals, Stone items and Fine Art are only $15 per artifact or artifact group evaluated as 1 lot
5. We offer paid Formal Letterhead Appraisals for insurance and estate purposes at a reasonable cost.
6. We offer Restoration and Cleaning of most Indian art and artifacts. See link above left.
7. Satisfaction is Always Guaranteed with a full money back policy.
8. Shipping is Free for most items. We exclude oversize and international.
Tuesday Talk with Matt Wood
Come visit our new online lecture discussions on various topics surrounding collecting Antique American Indian Art
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Of Special Note:
The Pottery of Maria Martinez
With the largest collection of Maria Martinez pottery available today, we specialize in all forms and signatures of Maria's works.
Click Here to See The Collection!
IF you don't see it on our website, email us your wish list!
We may have it in stock but not yet online.
Call Direct 949-813-7202 if you have questions.
- Always Buying and Consigning:
- Northwest Coast Wood Carvings, Masks and Totem Poles and related items
- Navajo Rugs and Navajo Blankets, Serapes, Chief Blankets, Regional Rugs, Ganado, Two Gray Hills, Crystal, Toadlena, Raised Outline, Teec Nos Pos, Shiprock Yei, Pictorials
- Southwest, California and Northwest Basketry : Alaskan Eskimo Apache Attu Chemehuevi Chumash Columbia River Gabrielino Hopi Hupa-Karok-Yurok Kawaiisu Klamath Maidu Makah Mission Modoc Mono-Miwok-Paiute Nootka Northwest Papago Panamint Pima Pit River Plateau Pomo Siletz Tlingit Tubatulabal
- Pueblo Pottery - Prehistoric, Historic, Early Contemporary and Contemporary; Acoma, Cochiti, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Nambe, Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan), Pojoaque, Sandia, San Felipe, San Ildephonso, Santa Ana, Santa Clara, Santo Domingo, Taos, Tesuque, Zia, Zuni
- Hopi Kachinas Dolls
- Silver and Turquoise jewelry, Old Pawn through Contemporary: Hopi, Navajo and Zuni
- Plains and Plateau Beaded Items and Artifacts
- Weapons: Bow and Arrows, Clubs, Knives, Spears
- Fine Art - Paintings, Photographs including Edward Curtis, Lithographs
- Early Man Artifacts