Flagstaff's First Annual
NAVAJO RUG AUCTION
Coconino Center for the Arts

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Hundreds of gorgeous, handmade, authentic Navajo weavings go on the auction block during this fast-paced and fun event!

Accepting Consignments: June 10-12, 11am - 5pm

Preview for FCP / MNA members: Friday, June 13, 6-8pm*

Public Auction Preview: Saturday, June 14, 10am - 4pm

Auction Begins: Saturday, June 14, 5pm

Flagstaff Cultural Partners (FCP) and The Museum of Northern Arizona (MNA) host Flagstaff’s first Navajo Rug Auction. The Auction will be held at the Coconino Center for the Arts. The auction will feature 300 contemporary and vintage Navajo weavings ranging in a variety of styles, including Two Gray Hills, Ganado, Teec Nos Pos, Yeis, Pictoral, Wide Runs, Storm, Sand Painting, and Eye Dazzler. Concurrently, the Center will be opening the Many Colored Weaves exhibition, featuring Navajo textiles from the collection of the Museum of Northern Arizona.

Navajo Tacos and Frybread will be available for sale during the preview and Auction on June 14.

Consignments will be accepted for this Auction. Artists and other consigners are invited to bring their Navajo weavings to The Coconino Center for the Arts on Tuesday, June 10 thru Thursday June 12 between 11AM-5PM and also on Friday, June 13, between 9AM and 12noon. Experts will be on hand to view and select weavings.

The auction will be led by auctioneers from The R. B. Burnham & Co. Trading Post. Bruce Burnham and his family are well known for their work in trading Native art of the four corners area for five generations. Bruce has been a trader to the Navajo for over forty years and is also the auctioneer for The Hubbell Trading Post in Ganado, Arizona. He and his wife Virginia own and operate The Burnham Trading Post and Collector’s Gallery in Sanders, Arizona, in the Navajo new lands. The Burnham family is known for their encouragement of innovation and quality in Navajo Textiles and his expertise in buying, selling, and trading has earned him the respect of area collectors and peers nationwide.

Specialists and experts in the field of Native American art and Navajo weaving will be on site to identify handspun, hand-carded, and vintage pieces verses acrylic yarns to ensure quality items and prices. Information on how to evaluate and buy Navajo rugs will also be available.

Navajo Rug Auctions are an excellent opportunity to learn about Native American Art. Before the auction you can hold rugs in your hands and appreciate them up close. Detailed information and discussion about a specific piece, artist, and other aspects of the weavings will be available before and after the auction by experts in the field of Navajo weaving and culture. Auctions allow weavers and other artists to obtain an immediate and higher return for their work. The breadth of artists, styles, and bidding opportunities has made rug auctions an affordable way to purchase and collect high quality rugs. Rugs sell from twenty to a couple thousand dollars. Even if you do not buy anything, it is a great learning experience.

The Coconino Center for the Arts is located at 2300 N. Fort Valley Road in Flagstaff, Arizona, on Hwy 180 towards The Museum of Northern Arizona and The Grand Canyon. Phone (928) 779-2300.

For more information, contact us at (928) 779-2300.

For information about the Many Colored Weaves exhibition, click here.

Also visit the Museum of Northern Arizona website.