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Tribal art
Any regular visitor to the world’s leading contemporary art fairs will have noticed an increase in the amount of tribal art on display, specifically African tribal art. Unsurprisingly, this surge has corresponded with a rise in the price of high-end lots sold at the world’s biggest auction houses. In 2014, a very rare Senufo female statue carved by the 19th-century Ivory Coast artist Master of Sinasso sold for $12m at Sotheby’s New York. Prior to that, the record was held by a Ngil mask of the West African Fang culture, which fetched $7.5m at auction in Paris in 2006. Before the turn of the century, pieces like this were barely making six figures. “Collecting has changed dramatically in the last decade,” says Patrick Mestdagh, owner of Galerie Mestdagh in Brussels. “In the past, collectors tended to specialize in one area, whether it was African masks, Sèvres porcelain or 18th-century silver. Today, they’re interested in many fields and are ready to mix them, but they’re usually looking for the top pieces in each. The general concept is: ‘Buy less, but buy the best.’” Yet while the market is dominated by high-end pieces, the recent boom has created opportunity elsewhere. Regardless of budget, there are certain qualities to look out for: age and rarity are important – pieces have to be made for traditional tribal use, not for commercial sale – but they also need to have great form, patina and expression. “Tribal art has been in the same conversation as Cubism, Picasso, Braque and Modigliani for years now, so it’s no surprise people are buying bits for their art collections,” says Bryan Reeves, owner of Tribal Gathering London, which provided the mask pictured – made by a Malawian tribe, the Chewa. “And the great thing is, they don’t necessarily have to be investment pieces.”
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08/08/2018 12:27