One of the questions I am most frequently asked is how one can distinguish an authentic African object from a fake. After more than thirty years spent handling traditional sculpture, I have come to believe that before speaking about fakes, one must first understand what authenticity itself means. Surprisingly often, the answer is less straightforward than many collectors imagine. In… Read More »What Is a Fake in African Art?
Not long ago, a client entered my gallery and paused in front of a small group of figures from northeastern Nigeria. After looking at them for a while, he smiled and said: “They remind me of Japanese robots.” It was not the first time I had heard such a remark. Over the years, visitors have compared certain Mumuye figures to… Read More »Close Encounters with African Sculpture
A Collector’s Guide to Traditional African Art By David Norden • BuyAfricanAntiques.com • Antwerp For more than 30 years, I’ve helped collectors discover authentic African masks, figures, and ritual objects created for social, political, and spiritual purposes. Traditional African art is one of the world’s most diverse and historically meaningful art forms — yet many collectors don’t know where to… Read More »A Collector’s Guide to Traditional African Art
Lire en Français Art Primitif à Anvers. Lees in Nederlands Primitieve Kunst in Antwerpen. We visited David Norden, an esteemed antique dealer with a passion for African art. We captured his story in three days, focusing on his personal life as an antiques dealer and how he gained his knowledge. “My father and grandfather already had an antique shop. That’s… Read More »Primitive Art in Antwerp