[Masthead]
This Site Last Updated: Wednesday, December 31, 2003
This Page Last Updated: Wednesday December 24, 2003
Contacting Us
Thanks for visiting, and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about price, size, or finishes.
Jonathan A. Chandross
Artist & Owner, Ancestral Art
908.898.0091
info @ Ancestral·com
(Address mangled to foil spammers)
Our Work
[Sculpture of Buffalo With Pierced Heartline (Navajo)]
Ancestral Art designs, manufactures, and sells decorative metal sculpture, wall hangings, and bookends for the home and office inspired by primitive art, including cave paintings, rock carvings, and pottery decorations. All of the artwork you see on these pages have been created by us and fabricated in the United States of America.
Our Inspiration
[Sculpture of Sheep Cult Shaman (California)]
Humanity has been creating artwork for tens of thousands of years. Our artwork is drawn from those images, which originally appeared painted on cave walls or ceramics, chiseled into stone, or sometimes in other media. The original artwork has been slightly modified up to enhance its artistic appeal. Missing portions have been restored, unintented asymmetries have been removed, jagged lines and curves have been smoothed, etc.
These changes enhance the beauty of the piece since we have the luxury of refinement, often at great length. While the original artists were working on the unforgiving medium of rough rock with stone chisels or with crude paintbrushes, or applying pigments to pottery with yucca leaf paintbrushes, we have the luxury of being able to make small adjustments to create a true work of art.
Original Purpose
[Sculpture of Sandblowers (Mimbres)]
It is important to remember that the original intent of what is labeled as "primitive art" may not actually have been intended to be art. The artwork represented in these pages was created for a variety of purposes:
  • To record an important event
  • As part of a religious ritual
  • As a tribal, clan, or individual sign
  • Adornment
  • Commercial purposes
  • As instructions or a warning
  • Graffiti
  • As art
  • Some other purpose unknown to us
  • As art
[Sculpture of Buffalo Transmitting Power to Man (Canada)]
Keep in mind that the reason many images were created can never be known with certainty, since oral traditions have not have preserved the meaning, and there may not be sufficient archaeological evidence to deduce their purpose.
Starting Points
Custom Work
If you did not find what you want, please let us know. Special orders -- for sculptures, books, or custom metalwork -- are welcomed. Should we not be able to create what you want, we will try to point you in the right direction.
Errors and Omissions
Notice any inaccuracies or mistakes? Please send us an email so we can fix the problem.