ATADA: Protecting the Past. Shaping the Future.

An organization OF and FOR collectors, dealers, and enthusiasts of the world’s traditional arts

Welcome Back to the ATADA Newsletter!

It’s been a while since the last issue, and a lot has changed. We’ve said goodbye to some dear friends and welcomed new faces into our circle. ATADA is always growing and shifting. We are a living community made up of many voices.

We know that at times ATADA may have felt a little disconnected, but it’s so much more than just standing up to legislation. At its heart, this organization is about people: collectors and dealers, colleagues and clients, all coming together over a shared love.

In this issue, we want to remind you of what ATADA is, what it can be, and how you can be a part of shaping it. Most of all, we invite you to stay connected. Share your thoughts, your ideas, and your energy with us.  We are excited to continue this journey together!

We Want to Hear from You!

What do you want to see in the newsletter?
Do you have an article you’d like to submit?
Have you PUBLISHED or AUTHORED a book or article? We want to link to you!
Do you know of an event you’d like to get on the calendar?
Is there a question you’d like answered in a future issue?

Send us a note at: newsletter@atada.org

And now, without further ado, let’s get into it…

The ATADA News 

Fall 2025

In This Issue:

What is the Collectors Circle?

Whitehawk 2025 - A Tribal Perspective

by Mark Johnson

An Early Navajo Twill Blanket

by Jamie Compton

What’s Happening in Washington

A look at the Art Market Integrity Act and how it would affect art dealers and collectors.

Eye on Europe

The 411 on what Regulation EU880 is and how it may affect you.

From the Archives: “The Sculptural Traditions of the Kayanic-Dayek People of Eastern Borneo Island”

Join us for a look back at Mark Johnson’s article on the wonderful artwork of the Kayanic-Dayek people of Eastern Borneo from the Spring 2017 Edition of the ATADA News.

Calendar of Events

A sampling of Upcoming and Ongoing events and exhibitions

ATADA News Fall 2025

Collector Circle News

 If you were at the Whitehawk Show in Santa Fe this past August, you may have run into Peter Merrill, or he may have run into you! Peter is our newest (and very enthusiastic) board member, and he’s launched something we’re really excited about: The Collector’s Circle.

If you haven’t heard, the Collector’s Circle is a show-and-tell social event where members bring favorite pieces, swap stories, and learn from each other in a relaxed, lively setting. Think of it as collectors geeking out together, sharing treasures, laughter, and maybe a few surprises along the way.

The first gatherings have been a hit, and now we’d love to see this idea spread. To make that happen, we’re looking for members across the country who want to host a Collector’s Circle in their own community. All it takes is a space, a little enthusiasm, and a willingness to bring people together.

Check out the Collectors Circle page to learn more: https://atada.org/collectors-circle

ATADA News Fall 2025

Whitehawk 2025: A Tribal Art Perspective

by Mark Johnson

Every August, the Whitehawk Show in Santa Fe delivers a sensory overload of Native American art.  Think Navajo blankets, beadwork, baskets, and jaw-dropping silver and turquoise jewelry—row after row of it.  It’s the kind of event that attracts serious collectors, curious newcomers, and everyone in between, all eager to see what treasures might be waiting.

But tucked in among the Native offerings is something that doesn’t always gain enough attention: a relatively small but growing group of dealers showing art from the rest of the world.  From Africa, Asia, and Oceania, you’ll find powerful masks, bold sculptures, colorful beadwork, and dazzling textiles with stories to tell.  For anyone who loves tribal art in its broadest sense, it’s a thrill.

A Little Back History

Long-time Santa Fe folks will remember when there were two shows back-to-back: one for general ethnographic art, followed by Whitehawk’s focus on Native material, all leading up to Indian Market weekend.  For a while, Santa Fe was the epicenter of both Native and non-Native tribal art.

Over time, though, new shows in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles shifted the focus elsewhere.  Eventually, for a variety of reasons (Covid being one of them), these other shows faded from the scene and the momentum circled back to Santa Fe.   When Kim Martindale bought Whitehawk in 2024, he folded the two traditions together, creating one big show at the Convention Center.  And it works.

Highlights from the Global Side

This year’s show had a real spark. Dealers offering international material reported steady sales and strong interest.

Mark A. Johnson Tribal Art brought works from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and tribal Asia.  Highlights included a colorful hornbill effigy from Borneo and an ironwood carving of a tiger battling a serpent.  I was especially pleased to place a Batak power mask, a shaman’s box from Borneo, a headhunter’s textile, and beaded headdresses from Sumba into new homes.

Thomas Murray built his booth around an “Art of the Pacific Rim” theme, featuring objects from Peru, Japan, Indonesia, Polynesia, and even the Arctic Circle.  His display also included two contemporary masks by artist Mort Golub.

James Barker & Carrie Haley had steady sales, including a fantastically carved dragon head from Borneo and a beautiful Buddha figure.

John & Kumi Ruddy praised the organizers for fresh improvements and enjoyed the energy of the show.  Among their sales was a striking 19th-century Japanese fisherman’s jacket (donza).

Erik Farrow noted, “I did very well with Tibetan material and sold three Polynesian/Melanesian pieces, plus some Asian works and swords.  There seemed to be more energy for tribal material this year, and more people came specifically for non-Native art. Being the only tribal show left in the U.S., people are making the trip not just to buy but to enjoy Santa Fe.”

The general feeling among the ethnographic dealers was upbeat: more people, more energy, more sales.  Interest in non-Native material is clearly on the rise, and everyone I spoke with plans to be back next year.  If this year is any indication, Whitehawk isn’t just about Native American art anymore—it’s fast becoming the place to see world tribal arts in the U.S.

ATADA News Fall 2025

 An Early Navajo Twill Blanket

by Jamie Compton

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of a Navajo twill blanket believed to be from the 18th century, predating significant Euro-American influence on Navajo weaving traditions. Through an examination of the blanket's materials (including churro wool and coarse bayeta), construction techniques (specifically the use of open twill), and design elements (such as the banded pattern and color palette), the paper argues for its early origins. By contrasting the blanket's characteristics with those of later Navajo weavings and contemporary Pueblo textiles, this study suggests that the blanket represents a transitional period in Navajo weaving history, demonstrating a shift away from Puebloan influence while retaining unique early Navajo characteristics.

Earliest Known Navajo Blankets

My enduring interest lies in early Southwest blankets, which I believe offer insight into the weaving traditions of the region before the influence of modern materials and techniques. This paper focuses on a specific blanket from my collection. By examining this blanket’s characteristics, I believe the information points to a likely creation period within the 18th century.   While available records indicate that the earliest documented Navajo blankets date to the late 18th —with no known examples definitively predating 1775[1] —prehistoric blankets from the Southwest, discovered in caves and burials, have been dated using scientific methods to between 400 and 1,000 years ago. I posit that early proto-historic blankets must exist, and I believe the example presented here represents one such piece.

A Twill Woven Blanket

This twill woven blanket was collected by an American soldier around 1848 in relation to the Mexican/American War period and belonged to a family in Texas. The blanket measures 50 inches by 36½ inches, and it is made entirely of wool. It is woven in an open twill pattern that alternates between diamond twill for the background and herring bone twill for the banded zones.  The blanket is beautiful in its design, coloration and complex twill.  This blanket holds a deep beauty, especially with its imperfections making it all the more human. In addition, it has a garment like quality. I have never felt a Navajo blanket with such a thin and supple feel (Figure 1).

All of the colored wefts, except for the red, are handspun single-ply wool dyed with natural dyes such as indigo and rabbit brush—though these have not been tested. The red weft is raveled bayeta, a commercially woven wool cloth that has been dyed with cochineal (tested). Since the Navajo did not have direct access to the highly valued cochineal dye, they traded for the wool cloth.  They then unraveled it, taking the loose yarns and weaving those into their blanket, and giving the term “raveled bayeta”.

The blanket has light indigo blue as the background color.  Within this blue background are five, primary zones of red.  These zones are themselves made up of a repeating, smaller banding system consisting of red divided equally by a thin band of yellow and green wefts. Three of the five zones are the same and consist of three, repeating red bands.  These zones anchor the two ends and the center.  The remaining two zones are smaller and consist of two red bands that divide the three zones.

Navajo or Pueblo?

Identifying this blanket as Navajo and not as Pueblo is critical regarding the claim for the early date.  This blanket is identified as Navajo, but does have Puebloan qualities that have made me pause.  One major characteristic shared by both is the use of the open twill technique.

Puebloans have used open twill weaving since pre-historic times and they continue to use it throughout the 20th century.  In contrast, Navajo weaving used open twill up until around 1800[2].  After this, Navajo weaving stopped using this technique and instead used the closed twill technique where the warps were entirely covered up by weft.  

There are three characteristics that make this weaving Navajo. The first is the use of corner embellishments or tassels.   One corner on this blanket has remnants of a corner tassel dyed  in deep indigo blue. Navajos would add yarn to the corners to embellish them and this corner shows those pieces of yarn worn down to their base. 

The second are weft selvage cords constructed of 2 – 3 ply cords. On both sides of this blanket are remnants of weft selvage cords. On one side the selvage remains as one piece of 2 – 3 ply yarns. On the other side, the weft selvage is unwound, showing two cords of 3-plied yarns hanging separately. Puebloan weavers do not embellish their corners with tassels, and their weft side cords typically have 2-plies instead of 3-plies[3]. (Figure 2)

The third reason is the lack of supplemental weft to define the transition from one type of twill to another.  Pueblo mantas create a supplemental weft between changes in types of twill.  This weft appears like a raised boundary between the blanket parts. This twilled blanket has no use of supplemental wefts between herring bone twill and diamond twill. Navajo do not use the supplemental weft technique (Figure 3).

On a more subjective note, there are other qualities that suggest Navajo.  The rectangular shape, or serape, is more of a Navajo trait, whereas square or wider than long is Puebloan.  The idiosyncratic qualities of how the twill roams outside its borders is more a Navajo than Puebloan quality (Figure 4).  Puebloan weavers are systematic in their weaving creating a blanket with few anomalies. In contrast, Navajo weavers vary their process, resulting in more unique designs on their blankets.

Lastly, the degree of color variation suggests a Navajo hand.   Having a light blue indigo background mixed with red that also incorporates dark blue, green and yellow is characteristic of Navajo.  The use of light indigo blue is rare and I have never seen a blanket where the entire background color is dedicated to a light blue.  Nowhere have I seen this in a Pueblo weaving. While the Puebloan used varied colors, there is restraint to the overall color effect.  Puebloan blanket backgrounds are typically natural brown or carded grey wefts, and do not use the high degree of color contrast as seen in this blanket.

A Prehistoric Cotton Twill Fragment

During my research, I discovered a notable parallel in Kate Peck Kent’s The Cultivation and Weaving of Cotton in the Prehistoric Southwestern United States. The publication features a photograph of a prehistoric cotton remnant exhibiting the same twill layout as the blanket under consideration[4]. Specifically, the diamond twill in the remnant represents the background color, while the herring bone twill defines the banded portions (Figures 5 and 6). This layout is further analyzed with a pattern drawing in Figure 81.E[5].  This remnant is noted as being excavated at the Aztec Ruin and dated to no later than the mid-13th century. This remnant does not have supplemental weft between the twill weaves. To my knowledge, it is not known when the Puebloans starting using supplemental weft. The existence of this remnant in relation to this twill blanket reinforces the assimilation of Pueblo weaving techniques being acquired by the Navajo.

The existing Pueblos in the Southwest were built by the descendants of the prehistoric people that made up the Anasazi and other groups. The Anasazi wove textiles with feathers, dog hair, yucca and, eventually, cotton. With the arrival of the Spanish Colonialists in North America in the 1540s, sheep were introduced for the first time.  Pueblo weaving flourished and by the 1600s, the Spanish were needing/forcing weavings from them.[6]

The Navajo, a northwestern Athabascan people, arrived from the north into the Southwest around 800 years ago.[7]  While the relationship between the Pueblos and the Navajo has been difficult and complicated, this did not stop the Puebloans from teaching the Navajo how to weave. The Navajo were fast learners and entrepreneurial in nature, and by the early 1700s, the Navajo were considered expert weavers.[8]  This prehistoric cotton fragment and the blanket under consideration shows the influence of Pueblo weaving on the Navajo.

What Makes This Blanket So Early?

• Open Twill

The design technique of open twill is the strongest feature that confirms the proposed date. As already stated, open twill was no longer used by the Navajo after the early 1800s. 

Open twill means that half of the design is created by the wefts, and the other half by the warps.  This results in much less weft and thus less weight. Early classic Navajo twill weaving (1820-1860) has blankets without exposed warps since by this period, the warps are all covered in a closed twill weave.

• Churro Wool

The Spanish brought with them to the New World a breed of sheep called churro. Prior to their arrival, there were no sheep in North America.  The churro sheep were ideal for the Southwest as they thrived on the desert landscape environment. In addition, their wool has little lanolin in it and the wool fibers are long and parallel to each other making any processing for yarn an easy chore. 

This blanket has all the qualities of early, churro wool.  The white warps are a golden color of white and all the other wefts of hand spun yarns have a worsted quality in contrast to woolen.  The yarn is smooth and long with little side fuzz as characteristic in later woolen yarns.

• Coarse Bayeta

Bayeta is the term used for manufactured cloth that came out of North America and Europe.  The natives living in the Southwest had no natural dyes that came close to the pure color of red.  Most natural dyes available to them were variations of brown and rust. The deep red we have come to love is called cochineal.  Cochineal was a dye discovered in Mexico and comes from the small bugs that live on the opuntia cactus.  With the discovery of this intense color, an industry developed in dying manufactured blankets with cochineal, known as bayeta.  Bayeta was sold and traded to the Navajo, where they then took the cloth, unraveled it, and then re-wove the strands of yarn into their blankets. (Figure 7)

The earliest documented Navajo blanket with bayeta is from the Patchwork Cloak (two Navajo blankets sewn together as an archaeological garment now in the Museum of Northern Arizona) and these raveled yarns date to 1750 – 1800.[9]   These coarse yarns measure .8 mm, z-spun, are naturally worsted, and light rosy crimson in color and likely dyed with cochineal.[10]  The red bayeta on my twill blanket is identical in all regards to that found on the patchwork cloak.  The diameter of the raveled yarn in this twill blanket is .8 – 1 mm, with a z-spin and the color is a light, rosy crimson dye tested as cochineal.  It’s interesting to note that all the other hand spun yarns in the blanket are made to match the size of the raveled bayeta.

• Banded Blankets

A simple banding system is characteristic of early Navajo weaving. The earliest blankets feature this straightforward design.  While these early styles of blankets continued to be produced throughout Navajo weaving history, the absence of design elements beyond this banding in the blanket under consideration suggests a relatively early origin.

Conclusion

While documented Navajo blankets from the 18th century remain elusive, this example presents a compelling case for its early age based on the factors examined herein. Although lacking a definitive collection date, the materials, construction methods, and design elements strongly suggest an early origin. The preponderance of the evidence suggests a Navajo origin; although no single feature is definitively Navajo, it is unlikely that several predominantly Navajo characteristics would be combined in a Puebloan piece.  This textile offers a rare glimpse into the transition from Puebloan to Navajo weaving. It incorporates Puebloan design elements alongside the nascent creativity and innovation of early Navajo weaving. Drawing upon 30 years of experience in collecting Southwest textiles, I have employed both objective and subjective criteria to approximate an accurate dating in lieu of direct evidence. I encourage critical feedback and invite the sharing of information regarding any similar examples to further illuminate our understanding of this pivotal period.

James Compton (known as Jamie) has collected Southwestern weavings since 1995, specializing in Navajo, Pueblo, and Rio Grande blankets. He is semi-retired and operates the James Compton Gallery in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico. His professional background includes work as a landscape architect (B.S.), as an architect (M.Arch.), and as a Certified Advanced Rolfer.

Jamie would like to thank Danica Farnand and Chuck Sheviak for their editing help on this article.

ATADA News Fall 2025

Watching Washington:

What to know about the “Art Market Integrity Act”

What Is the Art Market Integrity Act?

You’ve probably heard ATADA asking for support to fight the Art Market Integrity Act. It’s been in the works for a while, but you may not know exactly what it means for you.

What the Bill Proposes

Lawmakers in Washington want the art market to follow some of the same rules as banks when it comes to preventing money laundering.

Right now, high-value art sales can be very secretive—buyers and sellers don’t always have to reveal who they are. The bill would change that for sales over $10,000.

If it passes, galleries, auction houses, and advisors would need to:

• Verify who’s really buying or selling (no more shell companies).

• Keep better records of sales.

• Report suspicious transactions to the U.S. Treasury.

Artists selling their own work, nonprofits, and very small businesses wouldn’t be affected. The law also applies only to fine art like paintings, sculptures, and prints—not furniture, jewelry, or decorative pieces.

Supporters argue it’s long overdue. Critics worry it puts too much burden on small dealers. Either way, it signals a big shift toward more transparency.

Why This Matters for Small Dealers

For small galleries and independent dealers, this could be a mixed bag:

• Most sales under $10,000 won’t be covered, so daily business may stay the same.

• But bigger sales could mean new paperwork, compliance checks, and record-keeping.

• Extra requirements may be costly and time-consuming, especially for businesses without the staff or budget of large auction houses.

• Some collectors may hesitate to share personal financial details just to buy art.

On the flip side, dealers who adapt early may gain credibility with clients who value transparency.

What You Can Do Now

• Know Your Clients - Collect and save buyer/seller info; for larger deals, confirm who’s really behind the purchase.

• Keep Better Records - Store invoices, emails, and sales details in one organized system.

• Watch for Red Flags - Be cautious of cash-only payments, secretive buyers, or overly complex arrangements.

• Stay Informed - Follow updates from ATADA and other trade groups for guidance and templates.

• Use Transparency as a Strength - Show clients you run an above-board business. It builds trust and sets you apart.

For More Reading:

Cultural Property News: Weaponizing Regulation: Hidden Dangers of the Art Market Integrity Act

Read ATADA’s full notice here: ATADA Blog
Want to help? Check out our Advocacy Kit

ATADA News Fall 2025

Eye on Europe - EU 880

You may have heard of the new law that has come into effect called EU 800… but what is it exactly?  And does it affect you?

The European Union’s Regulation 2019/880 (EU 880)—better known as the Cultural Goods Import Regulation—was introduced to curb illicit trafficking in antiquities and cultural property. It requires importers of a wide range of cultural objects (from archaeological material to manuscripts and artworks) to present detailed documentation proving legal export from the country of origin before these items can enter the EU.

To enforce this, the EU relies on TRACES (Trade Control and Expert System), its central online platform for managing import, export, and transit procedures. Originally designed to track animals, food, and plants, TRACES has now been expanded to cover cultural property. Importers must use the system to file applications, upload supporting documents, and obtain approvals before goods are cleared.

In practice, however, the rollout has been anything but straightforward. Guidance for using TRACES runs to over 100 pages, with additional manuals just to create an EU login.

For non-EU firms and individuals—including U.S. citizens—the hurdles are especially steep. As of June 28, 2025, EU 880 has come fully into force for all foreign importers, meaning that U.S. dealers, collectors, and institutions now face the same requirements as their European counterparts. Importers must have a registered EU business address and an EORI customs number before they can even begin using the system. By submitting to TRACES, they also expose themselves to EU oversight and liability—an intimidating prospect for smaller entities.

For More Reading

• When Regulation Becomes Punishment: The EU 880’s Cultural Import Maze

• EU introduces new import controls of cultural goods

• Stricter Rules for Importing Cultural Goods Into the EU

ATADA News Fall 2025

From the Archives

We’re going all the way back to the Spring 2017 issue to have another look at Mark Johnson’s article on the sculptural traditions of the Kayanic - Daylek peoples of Borneo.

On the Calendar

UPCOMING EVENTS:

ONGOING EXHIBITIONS: