Comments about ‘Traveling treasures: American Indian objects embark on 2-year tour’

Great story! But how can you call turquoise "Navajo jade" -see story photos - and claim credibility!
Wright's in Albuquerque,, where I work, also has a large family collection of Indian arts, but the owners mother chose to recirculate them (her words) before she passed away at 89. We had them appraised by an independent appraiser, and they have been finding happy new homes for several years now.
We buy only current work, directly from the individual artists; have done for 101 years now, so what is old was new when it was purchased.
"Old pawn" jewelry was often deliberately pawned by the artist for cash, to create different, more salable items, when jewelry didn't sell quickly.
So, the cachet of old pawn really is in the hype of the consumer, not in the inherent worth of the pieces. Actually, workmanship is much better today than 40 or more years ago. Quality is quality, whether old or new.