Paris, the capital of classical African Art

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Paris has confirmed itself as the capital for the sale of classical African Art with two successful sales this week, both of which realized over €11 million each.

At Christie’s the auction “Art d’Afrique, d’Océanie et d’Amérique du Nord” witnessed the following notable sales: 
 

  • A Kota sculpture from Rubin, with a pre-sale estimate of €6 - 9 million, sold for €5,474,500, a world record for a Kota piece sold at auction. The piece is the second most expensive work of African Art sold in France, the third most expensive in the world.

 

  • A Grebou / Krou mask, estimated between €500,000 and €800,00 realized €1.321 million. This same piece was estimated between €80,000 and €120,000 in 2006 at the Vérité sale, the piece sold for €1.9 million.

 

  • A Baga shoulder mask, D’Mba/Yamba, with a pre-sale estimate of €1,500,000 - €2,500,000, sold for €2,393,500. This piece was also at sale during the Vérité auction in 2006, estimated between €400,000 and €600,000, it sold for €1.9 million.
     

H A P P E N I N G spoke with Martine Pinard, author of the blog Détour des Mondes, who explained that “the fact that these two pieces sold so well in 2006 explains the rather high pre-sale estimates; nevertheless, these works have the qualities to appeal to collectors of Modern art, there are strong links with Picasso.”

For the Rubin Kota, the price seems rather disproportionate and can be explained in part by its provenance - one part of the prestigious collections of Georges de Miré (1890-1965), Helena Rubinstein (1870-1965), David Lloyd Kreeger (1909-1990), and finally William Rubin, curator at MoMA from 1967 to 1988, researcher, art critic, collector, art historian, and professor. In 1984 he created the event “Primitivism in 20th Century Art”.

Pinard is in agreement: “I was rather surprised to see how collectors of Modern art were attracted to this piece, these people are used to much higher prices for artworks than those of Tribal art works. There were a lot of Kotas on sale, some not as beautiful, it must be said, or not as large, such as lot 39 with a pre-sale estimate of €15,000 to €20,000 which went for €16,250, it also had a pedigree, previously having been owned by Jacques and Denise Schwob, albeit slightly less important.” 

 

Sotheby’s responds


With a total of €11.1 million, Sotheby’s will too be satisfied with their most recent sale of African and Oceanic art which took place on June 24. The undoubtable star of the show was the baule double-mask from the Ivory Coast, with a pre-sale estimate of €2-3 million, the piece sold for €5,411 million. Another alumni of the Vérité sale, the double mask was estimated between €200,000 and €300,000, selling for €1.1 million. Sotheby’s put a lot of time and effort into spreading the word that this piece was coming back to sale, highlighting its value as an iconic piece.

Pinard explains however such a lot is a “beautiful piece, but not necessarily appealing to an African art enthusiast. On the contrary, a commemorative Akhan head, lot 84, was a piece without much publicity, estimated €200,000 to €300,000, and it was nevertheless sold for €855,000.” 
 

On July 9, Christie’s London is to bring to auction a luba female figure for a bowstand from the Democratic Republic of Congo, circa 1880, estimated between €1.5 million and €2.5 million, a significant price for such a piece.