Naga Axe

[Bill M]

Thank you for the book recommendations, Ben. I shall endeavor to acquire them.

I have a friend who lives in Kathmandu. He is very close with some of the Naga. He goes on regular pilgrimages to visit. He rides a motorcycle into the back areas and sits with shamen around a campfire, and discusses "old ways."

He is sad that the Christianization of the Naga has resulted, as it usually does, in a loss of heritage, a loss of their pre-contact culture. But if you go deep enough into the outback, there are powerful vestiges of this once great culture.

He is married to a Nepalese Hill tribe woman whose aunt is a practicing shaman. I have some of her artifacts as well.

I think that you are right in saying that many of the good Naga artifacts are in private collections, outside of Nagaland.

But, the bottom line in any collecting is that you can never really be sure that you have an authentic artifact. Even great museums have been fooled. There are countless examples, as well as other experts.

Usually I buy from private collectors, international art dealers and relatives of missionaries who brought pieces back.

Since I collect in many arenas, I can not possibly be expert in all of these venues. So when I just find something I like, run it by various of experts in my acquaintance, and if they have a good feel about it, I buy it -- sometimes I buy even if they don't like it.

It is ultimately my choice, as one of my mentors once said, "It is you who have to live with it."

But I rarely buy ethnographic pieces as "investments." My investments are in commercial real estate, and there, perhaps only there, I am the expert.

This gives me the time and funding to indulge in my hobby -- my passion -- for art as I see it.

[Bill M]

Ben,

Have been searching for the books and catalogs you have so kindly mentioned. Is this one of them?

SOMARÉ,GRATA & LEONARDO VIGORELLI. "The Nagas. Disciplined Forms of Beauty." Bergamo, 1992. 206 pp. Col. & b./w. ills. Stiff soft cover.

Is M. Alemchiba also written in this book? Or another book? If in another book, do you have a title of his book.

I have searched for Bonid Behari Goswam, but found nothing on Google. Do you have any book titles for him?

Kind regards,
Bill

[Dajak]

Hi Bill those 2 work on the cataloque this is the one I mean buy it fast if you can this one very hard to get .

And books are an good investment too Bill

Ben

[Bill M]

Ben,

Just ordered the book. Thank you again for your expert help!!!!

Kind regards,
Bill

I'll post some more Naga pieces. Here is a Naga house pillar. It is about 11' by 3'6" and about a foot thick. It commemorates a SEVEN buffalo festival/ritual/feast. This was a huge event.

As you can see in my picture of a Naga house, in Tangkhul Chinjaroi village, most were only four buffalo events.

I had to cut an opening in my 10' ceiling to get it in place.

[Bill M]

An archaic ax from the Kalyo-Kangyu Naga tribe. Heavy ax and shaft cover are made from one piece of iron that has a wooden core.

The head is facetted to one side and flat on the other, the neck and length of the shaft is incised with linear geometric shapes.

Photograph is from 1873. I have not seen any of these later than 1900.

[Dajak]

This is an nice axe Bill to me much better than the first one .

And gratulations that you get the catalogue an rare find

I did sell my big Naga collection in 2003 it is nice to see some one start collecting it . ( I only keep one brass piece but it is not an weapon)

Ben

[Bill M]

Thank you Ben, did not know that you had been a Naga collector. I greatly respect your knowledge and expertise. When you recommend a book, i usually get it if I can find it.

Here is another Naga dao similar to the last ax.