THE WILD WEST

Anyone who was active on the internet back in the very early days of eBay can testify, these times were the wild west of collecting. In truth, you never knew what you may find and if you would even get it if you won it. Though of no great value and one of a great number of these carvings, this is our Ainu bear, typical in style and carving though a bit more expressive than some. I would like to think this has a cautionary and illuminating story, we purchased it off eBay way back, maybe 2000 or so. It cost $19.99 and $12 shipping from Japan and was bid/ won from one of a small handful of Japanese dealers who were omnipresent at the time, they were the sole source on eBay for buying direct from Japan. The auction was bare bones and devoid of any description other than “wood bear” and four or five pictures so when it arrived and it was over 18" across, we were more than a bit surprised. It was wrapped up in padded paper and then in craft paper. covered over in packing tape so it looked like a mummy, well a mummy of a bear. I had to surgically cut it out of the packing to keep from scratching or damaging it. When I think about those early days, this auction and this bear always are front and center.