Hidden Treasure

RAEANNE MARSH

>>> Antiquarius Imports, Scottsdale, Arizona; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Arroyo Seco, New Mexico

The Scottsdale Antiquarius Imports showroom is spacious enough to display rugs on walls and collections of furniture and tribal artifacts.

Rugs cover the walls, and floor space is filled with wood furniture and artifacts that strongly evoke their tribal origins in eastern Africa and Afghanistan. Authenticity is the underlying precept of Conan and Ivelisse Brooks' wholesale and import business, Antiquarius Imports.

Conan's pedigree is as old as some of the artifacts in the showroom. A fifth-generation tribal art collector, he follows in footsteps begun by a great-great-grandfather who was a royal supplier to Great Britain's Queen Victoria.

"'Look at this Dogon ladder! You can see how it was carved to follow the lines of the tree,'" says Ivelisse, quoting Conan's excitement on acquiring the wooden artifact that had performed a vital service to its original owner: enabling him to climb into an arboreal hiding place when danger approached, and, for further protection, pull the ladder up into the branches with him.

A flash of vivid reds and yellows draws the eye to a cluster of spice boxes displayed on a rear table. With the exception of the rugs, most of the other items are of more muted earth tones. All seem to resonate with the vibrancy of age.

Age, however, is measured somewhat differently for these wooden artifacts from Africa. While 100 years old is the standard age threshold for an item to be designated "antique," Ivelisse explains, "In Africa's climate, wood desiccates quickly; little survives 100 years, so 60 to 70 years old is considered antique."

Pointing to neat rows of rotund, vase-like vessels along another table, some of which wear a basket-like cap, Ivelisse identifies them as Songhai drinking cups. Carved of wood, some are translucent from the neck to the rim. Notes Ivelisse, "The more you use wood, the more it patinates with all the oils from your hand." Patterns carved on the sides were identifying marks of ownership. "Each man would decorate his own, and his woman would weave the cover for the top."

Authentic items that were carved not for retail but for use by individuals who personalized their creation, each is one of a kind. "Carved with love," Ivelisse emphasizes, explaining the sense of responsibility she and her husband feel to impart an appreciation of that value to each object's new owners. "We offer people a bit of our journey," she says.

"Zen" tables are carved from magnolia wood.

The Brookses' journeys to acquire items for their stores take place three or four times a year, and entail a readiness to part with the shirt off their back — or hat from their head or watch from their wrist. Barter is often the currency of trade, and Ivelisse recalls Conan returning to New York from one trip garbed completely as an Afghan; of the cash and belongings he had taken with him, all he had left were his glasses.

Afghanistan is the source of Antiquarius' other line of merchandise: hand-woven, hand-knotted rugs. The Brookses sponsor a village in northeastern Afghanistan, and Ivelisse notes the now-10-year-old relationship is all based on honor and trust, and deals are sealed with a handshake.

Conan designs the rugs and sends the villagers the patterns and color instructions. Since names like "Desert Sage," so evocative in Antiquarius' Southwestern showrooms, do not translate with the same imagery into the villagers' language, Conan devised a color language for this endeavor. A woven sampler hanging in the rear of the showroom shows blocks of different colors, each marked with a number. ("Desert Sage" is No. 19.) Dyes are all natural, and Ivelisse notes the wool is also eco-friendly.

Named for an area near where Conan grew up in southeast Africa, the "Valley of 1,000 Hills" collection ranges from contemporary tone-on-tones to cleaner, more open versions of Persian designs. Sizes and colors can be customized, with a wait of approximately nine to 12 months for a 9-by-12-foot rug. But first, of course, they'll check to see if a rug of those specs is in one of their other showrooms.

The 2,000-square-foot Scottsdale showroom opened in October of last year. Other locations with regular hours are Arroyo Seco and Santa Fe in New Mexico, with showrooms in New York and London open by appointment.

Wholesale importers, the Brookses offer courtesy to the trade and a volume discount that accrues with repeat business. In addition, the Valley of 1,000 Hills rugs are 100 percent tradable. Recognizing that a designer's client may remodel two, three or more times, the Brookses encourage the designer to return the previous rug for one that fits the new décor, for only the cost of a restoration fee on the used rug.

7625 E. Redfield Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85260, (480) 483-0195; 487 State Road 150, Arroyo Seco, NM 87571, (505) 776-8381; 441 Cerrillos Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (505) 988-7444; or www.antiquariusimports.com.