The DMA’s Conservation and Arts of Africa departments, in an exciting and cutting-edge collaboration with UT Southwestern Medical Center, will present CT scans of a Senufo helmet mask from the Museum’s African art collection. This kind of mask is worn like a helmet by a medium at initiations, funerals, harvest celebrations and secret events conducted by the powerful male-only Komo society, which has traditionally maintained social and spiritual harmony in Senufo villages in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Burkina Faso. Visible attachments on the mask include a female figure, cowrie shells, and imported glassware. The CT-scans reveal unexpected materials beneath the surface and objects contained in the attached animal horns that empower the mask.
British Academy Summer Showcase. David Pratten gives an insight into the lives of the Agaba masquerade based in the Niger Delta region. His exhibit tells a story about members' masquerade traditions, and why they continue to flourish today. While these masquerade performances – which feature music, carved masks and bold dance styles – are striking, the songs are witty laments that reflect on the insecurity of life for these young men, and offer a critique of politics and the economic system in Nigeria.
This innovative and visually compelling exhibition presents more than 130 masks from the vast Congo region of Africa. Drawn from the finest and most comprehensive collection in private hands, these masks from the 19th and 20th centuries are combined with film footage, photographs, instruments, maps, and music to evoke the sights and sounds of the Congo.
In the exhibition Power Mask guest curator Walter van Beirendonck shares his fascination for the worlds of masks. Van Beirendonck explores different functions of masks: the supernatural, rituals, African masks as an inspiration for modern art and masks in contemporary high fashion. The exhibition features works from artists, designers and photographers like Viktor & Rolf, Jean Paul Gaultier, Keith Haring and James Ensor amongst others.
In Western European languages, the "mask" exerts a powerful presence as a figure of speech. To masquerade is to "pretend to be someone one is not." By extension, unmasking is a heroic metaphor for exposing a hidden truth. In this lecture, Z. S. Strother, Riggio Professor of African Art at Columbia University, uses African case studies to offer an alternative vision of masquerading. She will explore the aesthetic emotions aroused by masks, or more precisely, by "dances of masks": joy, wonder, awe, fear, and the release of laughing out loud. Most of all, her talk will investigate the uncanny—a sensation of "delicious shiveriness" triggered when familiar spaces and individuals become strange and changeable. This lecture and the accompanying publication (forthcoming in fall 2018) are sponsored by the Getty Research Institute Council.
As the debate about the restitution and repatriation of looted African artworks and cultural artefacts rages on, we chronicle the timeline of events that have and continue to shape the question, should Western museums send back looted African art.
"Find something that you connect with and love because then it becomes something that you want to learn about. It becomes a new passion. It's not just about art... There's so much more to it. It opens up this door of learning that you can't tire from."
African Arts—Global Conversations puts African arts where they rightfully belong: within the global art historical canon. It brings those works into greater, meaningful art historical conversations and critiques previous ways that encyclopedic museums and the field of art have or have not included them. African Arts—Global Conversations presents thirty-three works, including twenty by African artists. Highlights include a celebrated eighteenth-century Kuba sculpture, fourteenth- to sixteenth-century Ethiopian Orthodox processional crosses, and a mid-twentieth-century Sierra Leonean Ordehlay or Jollay society mask. Also featured are recent works by Atta Kwami, Ranti Bam, Magdalene Odundo OBE, and Taiye Idahor, which are paired with artworks by Māori, Seminole, Spanish, American, Huastec, and Korean artists.
Second Careers explores the connections between historical African art and contemporary practices through a selection of exemplary highlights from the museum’s African collection and loaned works. CMA objects from nine cultures in Central and West Africa—male and female figures and masks, masquerade costume, a hunter’s tunic, and a prestige throne—are juxtaposed with large-scale installations, sculptures, and photographs by six leading contemporary African artists. The exhibition considers the status of canonical African art objects when they begin their “second careers” upon entering museum collections.
It is on the initiative of Isabelle Anspach, curator of the Van Buuren Museum, that this emblematic home of Art Deco will host its very first exhibition of African art. Didier Claes, Vice-President of Brafa and curator of the exhibition, presents us with a remarkable and expertly chosen selection of major African works of art so in tune with the soul of the museum that they create an expressive connection that is nothing short of stunning. The beauty and astounding quality of the masks and sculptures on display all come from two Belgian collections.
"When I began collecting, I initially made a few purchasing mistakes. I was impressed by exciting 'hybrid' masks... I quickly got rid of these decorative ornamental pieces in favour of objects that had been consecrated and used in various forms of ceremonies and rituals."
"Africa is continuing". New forms of traditional art are being created every day and classic works of African art continue to inspire today's contemporary artists. Explore the influence the classics have on contemporary works.
Ndubuisi “Endy” C. Ezeluomba, Françoise Billion Richardson Curator of African Art at the New Orleans Museum of Art, shares his thoughts on restitution, connecting the classic and contemporary, and the future of African art.
Up to the present day, the Congo serves as a screen for the projection of Western as well as African ideas and fictions. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is famous for its vibrant art scene. Nowhere else in Africa is artistic creativity so diverse, inventive, and at the pulse of time. Still, in the past, too, people in the Congo brought forth impressive masks, figures, and designer pieces, many of which today rank as icons of African art. For the first time, the exhibition presents objects and photographs brought back from the Congo in 1938/39 by the art ethnologist Hans Himmelheber: colourful masks, powerful figures and artfully designed everyday objects. This contrasts with contemporary positions of renowned Congolese artists.
'IncarNations. African Art as Philosophy' crosses the African continent in search of the essence of African art. Preview the show and hear from its curator, Kendell Geers, by reading his opening speech to the exhibition.
Malick Sidibé (1935–2016), a famous Malian photographer, was granted the Hasselblad Award in 2003, among other prizes, and received a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2007. He is the first artist to earn these two prestigious distinctions. The Musée Barbier-Mueller is paying tribute to this photographer, whose body of work the visitor will first discover through a dozen unpublished portraits, taken within the framework of a competition featuring songs against AIDS, organized in Mali by Monique Barbier-Mueller in 2005. Malick Sidibé photographed the finalists in the competition in front of the unchanging striped backdrop and black-and-white checked floor of his studio. These songs, which bear messages about preventing AIDS, were broadcast to the Malian population over regional radio stations and are retransmitted here. Better-known prints, displayed in the basement, bring the Mali of the 1960s–1970s back to life and bear witness to the kind, curious, and spirited gaze with which Malick Sidibé regarded his peers. The museum wishes to showcase Mali, while at the same time promoting its traditional arts. Extraordinary pieces, including pendants, ornaments and figurines, masks, seats, and statues belonging to the Soninke, Dogon, and Bamana peoples, to cite only a few, are thus exhibited on the mezzanine. Brought together in the museum for the first time, these works will show the artists’ admirable creativity, while opening a window on the many rites and beliefs they sustain.
'Kofi Cole', the artist pseudonym used by African art historian Herbert M. Cole, creates miniature versions of classic African figures and masks. In this Artist Spotlight, we hear from Kofi Cole about his love of African art and his creations which praise the small.
In his 'Note on Negro Art', Tristan Tzara proclaimed that "black draws light". The father of the Dada art movement was a passionate collector of historical African art. We explore who Tzara was and what drove his love of art from the African continent.
I had the pleasure and the honour of being asked to collaborate on the preparation of this important exhibition. The following presentation, which accompanies the event, is the result of the joining of forces between those that knew and appreciated Ezio Bassani.
The appreciation of West African gold objects is based on their richness of form and highly sophisticated craftsmanship. We delve into the skill involved in making royal Akan gold ornaments by reviewing works from the Hartmann Collection.
“Ex Africa semper aliquid novi”, wrote Pliny the Elder in his Naturalis Historia, and this is the start for our exhibition that shows us how African and European affairs have intermingled EVER since ancient times. This will be done through ‘stories’ of art, identity, journeys and encounters, beginning with travellers’ tales and the first contacts between Europeans and Africans. The exhibition is divided into a number of sections: from formal quality expressed by large and small works to ancient objects from famous African kingdoms, together with masks and figures representing rituals and power.
Nathan Mabry’s work transforms the known into the new and the unexpected. Mabry melds classic African art with the contemporary, producing works in wood, plaster, and clay that satirise modernist derivates of historical works. Through his work, Mabry questions the narratives of progress that frame the history of Western art.
"Young collectors need to exercise patience. They do not need to create their collection in six months, it doesn’t work like that. Collecting should be a lifetime passion, there’s no need to rush. Take your time, have fun—there’s nothing more rewarding."
With our selection of tribal works, we propose elegant and demanding XXth century modern art and furniture. Important Songye mask, lot 37
Tribal Art from the Collection of Allan Stone and Various Other Owners encompasses 250+ lots, mostly African in origin, but also Oceanic, Asian, North and South American Stone was one of the great collectors of the 20th century. Tribal arts was one of his passions. This sale, vetted and catalogued by specialist-in-charge John Buxton, continues a long and successful relationship, with Rago representing property from Stone’s collection across multiple categories. Highlights: The Flores Island couple featured as the frontispiece in The Eloquent Dead: Ancestral Sculpture of Indonesia and Southeast Asia; a well-known Fiji Island figure with provenance to the James Hooper Collection, along with other important artifacts from Melanesia and Polynesia; many fine objects from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, notable among them an important Songe kifwebe mask; a Royal Bamileke sculpture; a fine Lobala drum; and an important Igbo totemic Ikenga post.
Cuban artist Wifredo Lam was a frontrunner of a cross-cultural state of style that subsumed Western modernism with African and Caribbean symbolism. His search for an artistic standpoint brought him in contact with the avant-garde movements of his age, movements that all had great significance in his work.
Ritual objects express the philosophical and aesthetical maxim of life. Ritual performance functions as a framework that enables entrusting one’s self to the unexpected, uncharted way of 'traumatic' reality in which the sublime emerges.
"In the exhibition were three small Fon bocio figures. They had a kind of mystery that I had been trying to bring into my own work. Seeing the Fon figures was one of those moments when the lightbulb went off in my head."
Christie’s Paris will present the collection of Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert. Bruno Claessens, European Head of African and Oceanic Art, explains who the couple is behind the collection and why this sale is not only unique but also important.
The exhibition on the aesthetic and meaning of beadwork focuses for the first time on women as artists. Whether in the shape of fine ornaments, impressive masks, or royal stools – bead art from southern, eastern and western Africa is admired for the delicacy of its workmanship and the diversity of styles. Manufactured in Europe for the African market from the 17th century on, glass beads are indicative of the early stages of globalisation. However, glass beads never merely served decorative or ornamental purposes; the colours and designs also convey intricate messages about age, gender, and identity of the persons wearing the pieces.
Hermione Waterfield joined Christie's auction house in 1961 and created the dedicated 'Tribal Art' department in 1975. Read how Hermione came to create the ‘Tribal Art’ department and her thoughts on the evolving market.
An exhibition at Lempertz showcases for the first time the exceptional collection of inveterate dealer Pierre Dartevelle. He spent a great deal of time in Central Africa beginning in the middle of the 1960s and was, among other things, the discoverer of Hemba statuary. The approximately 100 objects shown span areas of the Congo such as Shaba, Kasaï, and the Lower Congo. Material from the latter is among the strongest suits of his collection. Songye figures; Lega masks; Lower Congo fetishes; wood, bronze, and ivory objects; and spectacular effigies all give us insight into the mind of a man with a consuming passion for the traditional arts of Africa. Laurent Jacob, who was also co-curator for the exhibition on Edmond Dartevelle (Pierre’s father) at the Musée Président Jacques Chirac in 2010, is responsible for putting together this show. He is assisted here by Tim Teuten of Lempertz auction house, where the show is being presented, who adds his expertise to the subject.
"When we eventually had the means, we were so eager to make the connection between our upbringing and an art collection, especially photography. From that first piece in Gabon, to where we are today, I’d say that we have a very eclectic collection from artists from around the world yet with a focus on photography from the African Diaspora."
Mother and child imagery is prevalent on the African continent. Maternity images are used by everyone, from commoners to diviners, priests to kings—varied objects used in everyday and ritual life. Learn more about portrayals of mothers and their children in this preview of 'Maternity: Mothers and Children in the Arts of Africa'.
Born in Benin, growing up in Cameroon, and now working between Paris, Brussels and Cotonou, Dimitri Fagbohoun's work questions what it is to be 'African'. Fagbohoun reflects on his background and history, straddling geographical and artistic boundaries. Learn how Dimitri interprets classic works of African art.
This exhibition, at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, explores Pablo Picasso’s life-long fascination with African art. It unites his paintings and sculpture with art that fuelled his own creative exploration. See works that Picasso collected, lived with, and kept with him through numerous studio moves.
At the end of the colonial period, the Tiv of Nigeria invented the Kwagh-Hir masquerade to reaffirm their traditions. The Jerome Bunch Collection, assembled over many years and exceeding 1,000 pieces, is one of the largest collections of Kwagh-Hir material in the world. Get a preview of the new book featuring Jerome's collection.
"The mistakes that I made were collecting purely impulsively and not really studying and comparing and doing the legwork. Because early on, not doing the preliminary steps can be very detrimental. Late in the game, now, I can make a really quick decision on something and the likelihood of me screwing up is a lot less."
This exhibition presents approximately 20 works that illustrate the honored place birds hold within numerous African cultures. Inspired by our recent acquisition of a rare Pende Gitenga mask of the early to mid-20th century, the exhibition considers the role of birds within initiation, healing, and harvest rituals; within home décor and security; and within hunting practices. Long considered wondrous beings that transcend known worlds, birds have enjoyed a strong and steady presence in African life for centuries. Included are works that cite birds by material or motif made in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria.
In partnership with Clement Foundation, the Dapper Foundation presents 'Africa - Artists of Yesterday and Today' featuring nearly 100 major pieces from the Dapper collection. A Fang reliquary figure from, a dance stick in honour of the god Shango from Nigeria, a Punu mask from Gabon, a statuette of Ivory Coast embodying a mystical spouse all conjure up practices that in the West Indies touch deep in the privacy of individuals. This selection of major pieces from the Dapper Foundation's collection reveal a vast repertoire of representative styles from across sub-Saharan African societies.
'Visionary: Viewpoints on Africa's Arts', the National Museum of African Art’s new permanent collection installation curated by Kevin D. Dumouchelle, Christine Mullen Kreamer, and Karen E. Milbourne, represents the broadest possible range of Africa’s creative visual expressions. Featuring over 300 works of art, 'Visionary' takes as its central premise the primary activity, of 'looking'.
Carl Kjersmeier was a passionate collector of classic African art. He devoted his life to not only collecting art but strived to understand the work processes of the artists that created these objects. Learn about the life, journey, and passion of this poet at heart.
"The most important piece of advice is to see and touch as many pieces as you can. Train your eye and you will begin to see the differences sooner or later. Then you will see pieces and know, that one—no, that one—yes!"
"Be passionate about the work you collect. Don't only look at the provenance of an object but also consider its artistic qualities. There is no masterpiece waiting for you on eBay….so buy from trusted sources. Share your passion with other collectors, get as much information as possible about an object, before you acquire it."
The Oṣogbo art movement took root in the early '60s, paving the way for a new generation of modern Nigerian artists. Learn how some of these innovative artists evolved traditional Nigerian culture into modern art.
An exhibition at the Musée du quai Branly - Jacques Chirac looks at the principle artistic styles of the cultural groups from southern Cameroon, Republic of Equatorial Guinea, the Gabonese Republic, and west of the Republic of the Congo.
Father Joseph Cornet has been described as a man devoted to study, teaching, and art. Based on his time and experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, spent with chiefs and as director of the Institut des Musées Nationaux du Zaïre, he has authored a number of books on classic art from Africa. Learn about J. A. Cornet’s work, life, and research.
"I now collect two types of beads from Africa; those that either have a history—ancient glass beads—and beads that are used in rituals by African traditional healers, or in animistic rites. I discovered those functions of beads in West Africa, and I started documenting those uses, bead by bead."
Dogon architecture, culture, and art has fascinated the West since the early twentieth century. Dutch photographer, Huib Blom's 'Dogon—Images & Traditions' sheds light on the landscapes, architectures, and art of the Malian ethnic group. What's more, the book is now free to download!
September 2017 will see the publication of 'Africa, in the shadow of the gods', a book about the incredible history of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in African over the last three centuries. Never-before-seen classic African art masterpieces from the Congregation's collection are exposed for the first time.
We've curated a list of 10 museums that regularly post images of African art masterpieces in their collections, keeping us in the know about recent acquisitions and events. Here are the museums with collections of stunning classic African art.
Equatorial Africa has given the African arts some of its most outstanding masterpieces. From the plastic power of the Fang to the naturalist elegance of the Punu, a panorama of the main artistic styles of this vast region. In the heart of Atlantic Equatorial Africa, the cultural area encompassing the Gabonese Republic, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Southern Cameroon and the West of the Republic of Congo, is a region of great sculptural tradition. The plastic genius of the artists Fang, Kota, Tsogo and Punu is particularly illustrated in a religious sculpture linked to the cult of ancestors and the masks of spirit. Through a selection of emblematic - and often unique - works of major public and private collections, the exhibition proposes to study its main styles, in the manner of a "classical" art history. To explore the correspondences, mutations and peculiarities of the artistic production of the numerous groups inhabiting a vast area shaped by the migrations. To reveal, in short, the creativity and exceptional originality of the arts of each of the peoples of the Atlantic equatorial forest.
South African born, Belgian artist Kendell Geers, uses art to challenge notions of identity. We hear from Kendell, in his own words, how classic African art has inspired his work and helped him question and define his identity.
Highlights from this season’s curated Arts of Africa, Oceania and North America sale in Paris include works of art from the Collection of James and Marilynn Alsdorf featuring African masterpieces, such as a newly discovered Akan terracotta head and North American art. The Oceanic section of our April 8th sale is highlighted by a gope board and agipa hook both collected by Thomas Schultze-Westrum in Papua New Guinea. The African art section includes works from an Important European Private Collection, including a major Urhobo statue from Nigeria, a museum-quality Igbo couple and beautiful masks from the Fang, Chokwe and Punu. From a Belgian collection, an important Songye kifwebe masks will be offered at auction, as well as a rare Songye power figure with a turned head.
"Take your time before any purchase. Do intense research before you decide on a piece. Do not let yourself be pressured by anyone. Even if this special item is sold by the time you have decided to go for it, there will be another piece."
Africa is considered the cradle of humanity - all our ancestors come from there. Today the continent comprises more than 50 countries and has the world's widest range of languages and cultures. The exhibition presents impressive examples of traditional art from sub-Saharan Africa. The spectrum ranges from courtly bronzes from the realm of Benin, powerful power figures from the Congregation and centuries-old filigree Ivory carvings from West Africa to fascinating ancestral sculptures or masks from Mali to Tanzania. A special focus of the exhibition are works by international contemporary artists such as Romuald Hazoumé, El Loko, Pieter Hugo and Ransome Stanley.
LACMA's ‘The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts’ show is exhibiting 100 iconic African art objects that explore how the arts reflect cultural ideas of vision and visuality. In a conversation with Dr. Polly Nooter Roberts, consulting curator of African art at LACMA, we discuss the theme behind the show, its star pieces, and her recommendations on how collectors can use their ‘inner eyes’.
Parcours des Mondes has been instrumental in encouraging people to visit classic African art galleries in Paris. We joined this year's honorary president, Javier Peres, to discuss the three African art objects he views as highlights of Parcours des Mondes 2017, set to run from Tuesday 12 to Sunday 17th September.
"I like all spoons—East Africa, South, West. To me every culture has its own artistic vision of a spoon. The creativity is so appealing given that all a spoon needs is a handle and a bowl to make it functional. But African spoons go beyond the functional, a lot of thought goes into the carving."
"In [the early] days a lot of objects were available on the market. There was a tremendous amount of material in galleries, in collections, at auction, in museums. It was much easier to be in contact with a variety of objects… it was a very open world. Collectors used to throw parties at the time of auctions. The parties were fantastic, great objects and great people."
The Museum of Primitive Art was the first museum in the U.S. dedicated to art from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Now part of the Metropolitan Museum, 72 catalogues from past MPA exhibitions have been digitised and made available free online. Here we highlight the catalogues of exhibitions featuring African art.
Sotheby’s will hold its annual African and Oceanic art auction in New York on May 15, 2017 and in Paris on 21 June 2017. We spent time with Alexis Maggiar, International Specialist of African and Oceanic art and Director at Sotheby’s Paris and Brussels, to discuss the latest Sotheby’s exhibition of African, Oceanic, and contemporary art.
Self-taught artist, Marc Montaret creates contemporary interpretations of classic African sculptures and masks, in a bid to drive the rediscovery of ancient art forms. See how Marc exposes the relationship between the modern and the traditional.
Christie's 2017 spring African art auction has shifted to April to align “with the rhythm of the market“—coinciding with the fourth edition of Paris Tribal, and the ‘Picasso Primitif’ exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. View works from the Laprugne collection of the April sale.
Photographer Jean-Claude Moschetti aims to capture the metaphysical realm that exists beyond our perceived reality. His series, 'Magic on earth', captures the masquerades of Sierra Leone, Benin, Guinea and Burkina Faso to highlight the coexistence of the supernatural and the mundane—to explore the visual and spiritual elements of masquerading in West Africa today.
Christie's 2017 spring African art auction has shifted to April to align “with the rhythm of the market“—coinciding with the fourth edition of Paris Tribal, and the ‘Picasso Primitif’ exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac. View works from the second part of the April sale that will no doubt be successes.
The Inner Eye: Vision and Transcendence in African Arts features 100 outstanding sculptures and eye-catching textiles that explore how the arts and their visual regimes enable transitions from one stage of life to the next and from one state of being to another. Works reflect culturally specific notions of visuality and celebrate artists as agents of insight and transformation. Iconic figures, masks, initiation objects, and reliquary guardians guide people to spirit realms, to the highest levels of esoteric wisdom, and to the afterlife. Many works possess downcast eyes of contemplation and spiritual reverence, while others depict piercing projections of power and protection, or a multiplicity of eyes for heightened vigilance and awareness. The exhibition addresses various ways of seeing and encourages viewers to notice how works were made to look upon, gaze within, and see beyond ordinary limitations.
"Work with respected dealers. It’s easy to be fooled by an object that looks authentic but isn't. The world of African art is a fairly small community. Work with dealers that are open, transparent and willing to share information."
The February sale will include a good selection of African art includes figures, staffs, masks and textiles.
"Don't try to do it alone. Find people who will help you, mentor you, tutor you. Particularly other collectors. I have found that most collectors are very generous in sharing their passion and experience and eager to pass it on."
In the heart of Côte d’Ivoire, at the junction between the wooded savanna and the forest, live the Yaure, surrounded by more numerous and better known peoples (the Guro, the Baule), in whose shadow they have long survived, and farther away, by the Senufo, the Dan, the Dida and the lagoon peoples. Though the masks and statuettes produced by the Yaure enchanted European artists and collectors from the early twentieth century on, it is only very recently that the Yaure people and culture have been the subject of an anthropological work.
We review two masterpieces coming up for sale at the Christie’s and Millon Madeleine Meunier auction on 15 December 2016 — a Luba-Shankadi headrest and a Kuyu figure collected by Aristide Courtois and Charles Ratton.
"A great deal of authentic African art was still coming from the continent when I started. I experienced one region after another provide quality art and artefacts theretofore largely unknown to the market, appear and go into rapid decline."
Near half a century later, Madeleine Meunier's incredible tribal art collection will be back on the market. View Bruno Claessens' selection of historic pieces coming up for auction on 15 December 2016.
"The younger generation need to see African art integrated into timeless and stylish interiors - interiors that include and even highlight tribal art. We need to show that these ‘foreign objects’ can be incredibly beautiful and can add value to an interior."
MoMA has made its entire exhibition archive, from its first exhibition in 1929 through to today, available online for free public viewing. Unlimited access of this magnitude is unprecedented. View the African art exhibitions within the online archive.
An important one-day auction featuring ethnographic art encompassing Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal, Oceanic, and so much more! Session 1 features the Estate of Merton Simpson collection. Session 2 focuses on multi-estate ethnographic collectors. Simpson assembled a memorable collection of African art with notable pieces that include a 16th century Benin plaque, a Niger Delta seated figure c.15th – 17th century, a Kuba Bwoom mask, an Eket round face mask, and more.
The Tribal Art Fair is one of the four most important ethnographic fairs in Europe. This is reflected in the international character of the fair. Participants come from various countries, such as the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Thailand and the USA, and visitors travel to Amsterdam from all over the world to visit the fair too. The fair is of interest to anyone who wants to find out more about tribal art. Guided tours are organised and you can find out information from the gallery owners. Of course, there’s also plenty for long-standing collectors to see. Tribal art is about so much more than masks and sculptures. It also encompasses textiles, jewellery and utensils. It goes without saying that this diversity will also be on display at the Tribal Art Fair. For years now, ethnographic objects have been a source of inspiration for artists, designers and interior designers. The way in which these objects were made by specialised craftsmen is unique. In addition, special materials were often used for the objects.
As you know, research is at the heart of ÌMỌ̀ DÁRA. This month, we've curated a selection of resources to help you dig deeper into the history and variety of art objects found in African ethnic groups.
"For me it’s important that the objects I collect are used ritually; this is the special part of traditional African art. It has meaning, it’s not just beauty for beauty’s sake, it’s beauty for magic, power and expression."
"Collecting should be fun but with tribal art it’s not always that easy, it’s a tricky business. I think every collection is highly personal, the result of aesthetic encounters... a collection is an articulation of the person’s identity and self-narrative."
"Africa is huge and provides enormous variety. Specialising means that you gain massive amounts of knowledge about your very specific collecting field by comparing your discoveries and understanding the similarities and differences... in the end, most importantly, be a passionate collector, not a calculating buyer!"
Connecting African art collectors with dealers and scholars, based on a foundation of knowledge about the origin, use & distinguishing features of listed pieces
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