Harry L Neufeld

Harry & Tiala Neufeld have been collectors of authentic, traditional Naga tribal art, costume and jewelry since the beginning of the Naga tribes' major divestitures of their cultural artifacts in the late 1970's and through the 1980's. Before that, Tiala, an Ao tribe Naga born in the village of Chuchuyimlang, had already accumulated things from her own tribe and from others as well.

We met while adventuring in India in the early 1970's. Born to the most respected elder in the Ao area, Tiala had been able to leave Nagaland to get an education in Darjeeling, and had traveled thereafter to Europe, Nepal and other areas in North India before returning to New Delhi. While I specialized in collecting and recycling antique ivory dowry jewelry and objects as a wholesale business until 1988, together we accumulated one of the finest collections in the world of the ethnographic materials from the northwestern Burmese hill area of Nagaland, which has been incorporated into political India since 1947. Fortunately, we have been able to travel to the most remote areas of the region through Tiala's family ties, and our travels and business in tribal art and antique jewelry have also given us the ability to collect many other fine pieces from South Asia and the Himalayas.