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
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
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
Recently I revisited a fascinating postcard from the Loango coast, dating from around 1910. At first sight, it appears to confirm exactly what many collectors hope to see: African masks and figures photographed “in the field,” offered in an open-air market during the colonial period. For many collectors, such early documentation immediately creates reassurance. The older the publication or photograph,… Read More »African Art Authenticity, Colonial Postcards, and the Problem of “Made for the Market” Objects
Chibinda Ilunga figure, Chokwe, Angola — Museum RietbergThis article is based on a recent newsletter I sent to collectors. Over the years, I’ve noticed that most collectors are not lacking interest — they are lacking orientation. Where do you look? What do you trust? And how do you train your eye? In this guide, I share three practical directions… Read More »How to Train Your Eye in African Art: 3 Practical Tips for Collectors
