One of the most difficult things to explain to somebody who is beginning to collect African art is that the greatest danger is not necessarily buying an obvious fake. The more subtle problem is that there is a considerable amount of African-looking material on the market today which was never made as traditional African art in the first place, but… Read More »The African Art Market: Why So Many Antiques Are Not What You Think
Welcome To the African Art World. How to collect African Art with an experienced Eye Most people begin collecting African art by asking the wrong questions. They ask about the tribe, the age, the provenance, or the price. Those things certainly matter, but they are not where true connoisseurship begins. The first question should always be: Is this a good… Read More »How to Collect African Art with an Experienced Eye – David Norden
There is an old story I once heard from a collector who spent years traveling through mountain villages between Nepal and Tibet. He told me that certain masks should never be looked at too quickly. “At first,” he said, “they are only wood.” But then, after some time, the face begins to change. One evening, while arranging objects in my… Read More »The Mask That Smiled Back
This morning, before opening the shop, I placed these two next to each other. Not because they belong to the same tradition. They clearly do not. But sometimes objects begin to speak differently when they share the same space for a while. One is a mask from Zambia, in the Mbunda style. The other, a small Lobi figure from Burkina… Read More »Two African Pieces on the Table
African Art Gallery — Step Inside the David Norden Cavern When people search for an African art gallery, they are often looking for beauty. But seasoned collectors are looking for something else entirely: truth, age, rarity, and presence. The other day, something happened in my Antwerp gallery that made me smile. The director of the African Art department at the… Read More »African Art Gallery — Step Inside the David Norden Cavern
