Smoke pouring out of our New Mexico adobe
chimney evokes the architecture of the Puebloan Anasazi Culture 1000
years ago!
Honor the traditions of
all people -- don't neglect
the traditions of your own
ancestors! Show respect
for all creation and leave the
world better for your passage.
"When you were born, you cried
and the world rejoiced! Liva so that when you die,
the world cries and you -- rejoice!"
American Indian Proverb
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About Us....
Kiva Trading Company was founded as a family
business in 1985 as a means of bringing fine examples of American Indian
handmade jewelry, pottery, weaving and traditional crafts to the
markets of the Eastern Seaboard. Both sides of the family have
deeply rooted interest in American Indian cultural issues going back
generations in both Eastern and Western homes and had amassed collections
of the traditional crafts and jewelry. As a business venture born from
our combined love of the arts, it felt very natural to move on to the
next stage in our lives.
Becoming "Reservation Traders" by the end of 1986 opened
our eyes and introduced us to many new friends and their families
among the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni and Pueblo people of the Southwestern USA.
The travel was breathtaking! We saw the potential immediately
in the quality and beauty of their work, and the reasonable prices
they asked. We also took renewed interest in the techniques involved
in producing the variety and the individual, unique nature of their
expression in the arts. For several years we participated in crafts
shows and fairs, and found the most receptive market in New York City!
The view from
our front register -- online, like in our gallery, there will always
be a variety of work offered.
Four years later, we opened our Main Street Gallery in
a tiny, historic whaling vilage on the North Shore of Long Island
and shortly afterward, found our New Mexico home as well, which has
become the base of our buying operations. Three generations
of both sides of our families have worked with our customers both behind
our showcase counters and online, where we have made many new friends
since 1997.
This is the inside view of
a c. 1400, small kiva located in the Mesa Verde ruins in Southern
Colorado, typical of mid-Anasazi cultural architecture, and our namesake.
Beginning in March of 2007, we
began moving a substantial portion of our retail sales operation
to a store set up on Ebay, allowing us access to a worldwide market.
The initial results have been very encouraging, and we intend
to bring our personal committment to customer satisfaction and
selection to our online presentation. You'll find the same attention
to detail and consideration of personal needs in our online customer
care as you would if you walked into our gallery.
We also absolutely guarantee the authenticity of all items
we offer for sale, and are in full, voluntary compliance with the
Congressional Indian Arts & Crafts Act of 1990 regarding materials,
origin and tribal affiliation of the artists who produce the beautiful
one-of-a-kind items we sell.
This is a T'saa, a Navajo Ceremonial Basket, handmade from
Devil's Claw, Yucca and bundled grasses.
We offer a full return policy for any of our items as long
as they are received within 7 days, in an undamaged condition as
well as full repair facilities for any item we sell. All
our online sales are absolutely secure transactions, but we also offer
telephone sales for customers who prefer personal contact. Our
shipping is always fast, safely packed and fully insured against loss.
We hope you'll become one of our regular customers, and
hope you enjoy browsing through both websites and our Ebay Store at
your leisure.
This was Main Street, Cold Spring Harbor,
L.I. around 1900. For those familiar, today it is NY
State Route 25A, one of L.I.'s busiest E-W routes! Times have
changed a lot since then!
Zuni Cluster Style jewelry is one of the
high points of Zuni silversmithing. This item shows fine petite-point
lapidary and stone setting in natural Sleeping Beauty turquoise.
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