Chicago - Folk Art

Antique French Carved Wood Hand Painted Carousel Horse Statue This antique French carved wood hand-painted carousel horse statue embodies the charm and artistry of classic carousel...

This early 20th-century Yoruba Ọ̀sanyìn staff, meticulously crafted from wrought iron, features a prominent central bird surrounded by several stylized avian figures, symbolizing spi...

Nearly six feet tall, this one-of-a-kind sculpture is created from carved wood and vibrant multicolored lacquer. Bright reds, blues, greens, yellow, orange and black. Signed "J.A. Bi...

1920's English "Private Bar" etched glass sign framed in oak frame.

Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various metal pieces to...

This small olla jar is a beautiful example of Mesoamerican pottery, decorated with red, white, and orange slip in the style of Chupícuaro ware. Th...

This helmet mask created by the Mende people of Sierra Leone was made for the women of their tribe to wear while dancing. Commissioned by women for their ...

This one-of-a-kind Austrian hiking staff has been handcrafted from solid oak. Oak is a relatively lightweight yet sturdy material, which lends itself perf...

A rare set of early 20th century cast lead French Naval battleship training models used by servicemen in identifying ships from the air. We had a custom steel plate made for display ...

Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, found steel objects are welded together to ...

While shield and spear were central to African combat, this iron sword blade was most likely made to serve as a piece of trade currency. Many pre-colonization African currencies were...

1930’s enamel and neon sign Milwaukee’s Choicest Braumeister Beer Sign. New transformer and new wiring. Please note that it will be additional fee for shipping crate.

A mischievous 20th century American folk art rooster sculpture with a wonderful disposition, and beautiful rusted finish. Perfect indoors or out!

The Borana Oromo people of southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya are historically a cattle-keeping culture, and each household keeps a number of traditional vessels for storing and ch...

This petite hand-formed vessel bears a richly textured surface of worn red clay slip and dark smoke marks. Likely intended for everyday use, the simple bottle-form vessel reflects th...

Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...

This is a welded steel sculpture made by furniture creator Jim Rose. It is sustainable design created from salvaged and recycled steel panels left over from his larger projects. These sculptures reference traditional American Folk Art barn house models or bird houses. This sculpture works alone on a shelf or table or can be grouped with other house sculptures by the artist. Each house sculpture is unique in design and color. Jim Rose Structure #168 found steel with natural rust patina and paint 6h x 4.50w x 2.50d in 15.24h x 11.43w x 6.35d cm Jim Rose b. 1966 Bio Born in Indiana, Jim Rose lived in Europe until he returned to the United States to attend college. After one year at Bard College, Jim transferred to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago (SAIC) where he graduated in 1988 with a BFA. His skillful interpretation of the Shaker design is a result of intense research and field study of Shaker furniture, architecture, culture and history. After over two decades of dedicated work, he has mastered the minimalism of the Shaker technique and created his own unique visual vernacular. The quilts of Gee's Bend have become a monumental influence taking this artist's work to new levels of unique interpretation and artistry. His selection of aged steel results in a patina directly related to that of aged wood while his colored strips beautifully mimic worn cloth. Each piece of furniture is masterfully made and intended for daily use. Jim Rose’s steel furniture is featured every year at SOFA Chicago for the past 25 years. Jim Rose b. 1966, Wisconsin Education 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions 2017-2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 2016 - 1995 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery...

Artisans from the Luba tribe were renowned for the organic flow of their carving style. This example clearly shows the smooth transition from aspect to aspect, maintaining a singular...

The Djerma people of Niger are well-known for their gracefully shaped and delicately painted water containers. The surface paintings are applied after firing with all natural pigment...

This intriguing head fragment was once attached to a bust or full effigy figurine crafted in 400 A.D. Mesoamerica. Earthenware figurines were made in great abundance throughout Teotihuacan's history. After 250 A.D. objects made from clay increased dramatically in Teotihuacan, serving a wide variety of purposes and functions from religious rituals to burial offerings. Figurines like this commemorated important people and events within the city of Teotihuacan and other parts of Mesoamerica, portraying individuals of different rank and status such as soldiers, merchants, bureaucrats, and occasionally divinities. This figure is adorned with an elaborate headdress, a thick beaded necklace...

A striking 20th century Amazonian Shipibo pot hand-built from clay, decorated with wide red and orange lines, and glazed with the sap of a tree. Members of...

This abstract stone sculpture is a funerary marker of the Bura people of the Niger/Mali region. Little is known about the Bura civilization (c. 200 to 1000 AD), but it shares many of...

With its many blades and dramatic form, this impressive throwing knife would have been a status symbol and a form of currency among the Ngombe peoples o...

Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has taken heavy gauge wire and formed it into a simple dog and placed it upon a salvaged steel cylinder. These repurposed items combine to form this small simple sculpture that will sure to bring a smile to its owner. Jim Rose Objects No. 04 Found and Collected Objects 6.50h x 6w x 10.50d in 16.51h x 15.24w x 26.67d cm JR0291 Jim Rose b. 1966, d. 2023 Bio Born in Indiana, Jim Rose lived in Europe until he returned to the United States to attend college. After one year at Bard College, Jim transferred to the School of the Art Institute in Chicago (SAIC) where he graduated in 1988 with a BFA. His skillful interpretation of the Shaker design is a result of intense research and field study of Shaker furniture, architecture, culture and history. After over two decades of dedicated work, he has mastered the minimalism of the Shaker technique and created his own unique visual vernacular. The quilts of Gee's Bend have become a monumental influence taking this artist's work to new levels of unique interpretation and artistry. His selection of aged steel results in a patina directly related to that of aged wood while his colored strips beautifully mimic worn cloth. Each piece of furniture is masterfully made and intended for daily use. Jim Rose’s steel furniture is featured every year at SOFA Chicago for the past 25 years. Jim Rose b. 1966, Wisconsin Education 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI. 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions 2023 Jim Rose CODA, Gallery Victor, Chicago, IL 2020 Unseen, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery Victor, Palm Springs, CA 2018 SOFA Chicago 2018, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL Art Market Hamptons, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Bridgehampton, NY Art on Paper, Gallery Victor, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, NY 2017 - 2019 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 2016 - 1995 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi 2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY 2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN 2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI 2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI 2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI 2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY 2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI 2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition) 2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Marriage of the Minds...

After oxen were introduced to Guinea Bissau by Portuguese sailors in the 15th century, its strength, aggression, and nobility quickly became integrated i...

The Nupe people of Nigeria were touted as some of the finest ceramicists in Africa. Everyday objects, like this water vessel, received detailed attention. The vessel's varied texture...

Decades ago, we purchased a hand-carved wood Sheep Sign that was hanging outside the front of a Woolen Store in Leek, England. For as long as I ...

Time honored texture and form define this Nigerian copper sculptural object. The intricate geometry was achieved through a process known as scarification. The artisan would meticulou...

This silver alloy ingot is cast in the form of an elongated bar, with a slender, rectangular shape and curved ends. Resembling a shallow dish or incense stand, the ingot has a concav...

A beautiful 20th century American life-size sleeping Canada Goose decoy with its original paint, a removable head and neck, and glass eyes, on a cu...

This wooden headdress was created by the Yoruba People of western Nigeria, and was worn during a masquerade known as egungun. A widespread Yoruba ritual, egungun performances honor a...

Hand carved with a figurative design, this TOTEM-like wooden post was crafted by an artisan of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. Resembling the tall houseposts used to support the roof of a home, this shorter post would have been placed on a veranda courtyard as a symbolic and decorative element and did not bear weight. This veranda post...

Stamps, or sellos, such as this one were common during the pre-Columbian period in Mesoamerica and most popular during the Formative Period that spanned the years between 1200-800 B....

This standing female figure was crafted in 400-100 BC from the ancient Chupicuaro region of Mexico. The ceramic works of the Chupicuaro people are distinguished by their slanted, cof...

While shield and spear were central to African combat, this iron example was most likely made to serve as a piece of trade currency. Many pre-colonization African currencies were modeled after objects of inherent value, resulting in sculptural combinations of function and beauty. This large iron spear dates to the early 20th century and is attributed to the Kuba people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Secured to a narrow handle of iron and wood, the flattened blade has an elegant, sloping silhouette, subtly textured with raised lines and a rusted, antique patina. Forged as a broadleaf spear, the weapon contrasts a violent potential with images of peaceful branches swaying in the wind. We've set this unusual Kuba spear...

This intricately-constructed colorful train was painstakingly created by Yoruba artisans in Nigeria in the mid-20th century. Recent designs such as this were based upon sashes that s...

Masks from the Pende people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo are considered some of the most dramatic works of African art. The Pende have defined an extensive range of mask forms, many with distinct characters embodied during ritual ceremony. Colored by red and white pigments, this Pende mask...

Antique American general store revolving bolt and nut cabinet. Original paint.

This early 20th-century Yoruba Ọ̀sanyìn staff, meticulously crafted from wrought iron, features a prominent central bird surrounded by several stylized avian figures, symbolizing spi...

Consisting of lighter and darker woods laminated together for strength and geometry, this handmade chair sculpture had to have been a work of art brut. Round seat back echoed in the ...

During their five hundred year history in the Southern Congo, the Basuku tribe developed a series of intricate rituals built around their skilled mask makers. This particular example was most likely carved in the likeness of a deceased chieftain. The artisan intentionally pronounced the eyes, cheeks, and chin to provide a terrifying test for young men as they underwent their rites for manhood. The Basuku's spiritual expressions inspired early 20th century western painters...

African Kenyan bells with 3 Kisi metal tally sticks provenance Douglas Dawson. Came from the Goldberg Family Collection. Dims are of a single bell.

Vintage Hand Forged Peacock Garden Folk Art Statue on Wood Base This vintage hand-forged peacock garden folk art statue is a stunning addition to any outdoor space. The statue showc...

After collecting antique English bead-work for over 40 years, we believe this fabulous pillow to be one of the finest examples in existence. The panel depicting a much earlier era, w...

This large animal sculpture is actually a traditional African slit drum, a percussive instrument commonly carved from a single block of wood. Comprised of a hollow resonance chamber ...

Attributed to the Yoruba people of western Nigeria, this wooden headdress was worn during a masquerade known as egungun. A widespread Yoruba ritual, egungun performances honor a comm...

Receiving guidance from tribal ancestors was a central aspect of the Luba people's spiritual practices. This ceramic spiritually significant vessel is topped with a crossed leg figure whose head has an opening critical for a divination ritual. Known as an mboko, this handled vessel would have been filled with items like antelope horns, shells, dried beetles, human teeth...

An incredible and rare set of 19th century French stone carver's wooden mallet and six iron chisels, mounted on a custom steel stand. Found in Roen, Nor...

In an exclusive collaboration with pagoda red, Chicago artist the bms. adds a contemporary twist to our collection of one-of-a-kind African art objects. Guided by its geometric line work, the bms. uses...

Awesome American pine original paint Child's Cupboard finished in a stunning Georgian Blue with glass knobs. The back board on top of the piece can be removed upon request-- without ...

Like many pieces of traditional African metalwork, this sculptural double bell served multiple purposes within the Bamileke communities of Cameroon. They were status symbols, ceremon...

1950s American hand-painted carnival ride panel.

Richly textured with whimsical appeal, this late 20th century wooden crow is a delightful example of naive American sculpture. Poised mid-caw, the crow's wings are outstretched, read...

This 19th-century walking stick from northern China is comprised of a length of thin bamboo that has been steamed and bent into a hook shape. The bamboo segments are painted in alter...

Vintage U.S. WWII Era Boeing PT-17 Stearman Wood Propeller Decorate your living room, restaurant, hotel or lounge space with this exquisite memorabilia. This wooden propeller is fro...

Inspired by the natural world, Nupe ceramicists fired this water vessel in the shape of a gourd. The vessel's varied surface textures and colors come from its functional design. The ...

These two hand-carved sheep by Stephen Huneck capture everything that makes his work so beloved: warmth, whimsy, and an unshakable respect for rural life. One sheep stands tall with ...

Life-sized, mohair Steiff Elk, probably from the 1960s. Steiff referred to these life-size stuffed creatures as, “studio animals” and were very expensive when new. As I child, we wou...

This intriguing redware figure was crafted in 400 A.D. from the ancient Teotihuacan region of Mexico. Earthenware figurines were made in great abundance throughout Teotihuacan's history. After 250 A.D. objects made from clay increased dramatically, serving a wide variety of purposes and functions from religious rituals to burial offerings. Figurines like this commemorated important people and events within the city of Teotihuacan and other parts of Mesoamerica, portraying individuals of different rank and status such as soldiers, merchants, bureaucrats, and occasionally divinities. This figure is adorned with an elaborate headdress, a thick beaded necklace...

This painted mask was created by the Yoruba People of western Nigeria, and was worn during a tradition known as Gelede. A blend of ritual and artistic spectacle, Gelede pays homage to the women of their Community, understood to possess spiritual powers capable of the benefit or the destruction of society. The Gelede masquerade is an opportunity to honor or condemn behaviors within the Community, through dance, art, satire, and poetry. Worn by veiled dancers, Gelede masks...