A fascinating private collection of African tribal and ethnographic art, much of it believed to have been collected in West Africa during the middle decades of the 20th century, is to be offered by Heritage Auctioneers & Valuers as part of its New Year Auctions on 1st and 2nd January.
The two-day sale will begin at 9am each day, with viewing on Thursday 31st December from 9am–4pm, and again from 8am on the morning of the auction.
The collection encompasses masks, figures, ceremonial objects, carved doors, staffs and other traditional pieces associated with a number of African peoples and regions, including the Dan, Bété, Baule, Songye, Dogon, Ashanti/Akan, Bakongo and others.
Many of the pieces themselves are considerably earlier than the period in which they were collected, with dates recorded in the accompanying notes ranging from the second half of the 19th century through to the early and mid-20th century.
Perhaps most intriguing is the history that accompanies the collection.
According to information supplied with the group, the African pieces were assembled during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s by a European who worked in West Africa. When the collection was subsequently brought into the United Kingdom, it was reportedly detained by Customs and remained in storage for many years before eventually being released during the 2000s.
The accompanying account states that when the collection was later acquired, a number of the pieces remained wrapped in old African newspapers dating from the 1940s and 1950s.
If confirmed, this long period in storage may help explain the remarkably untouched character claimed for many of the objects.
Among the earlier pieces is a substantial West African mask attributed to the Dan, Guéré or Kran cultural region of Ivory Coast and Liberia, believed to date from around 1870–1890. The handwritten catalogue describes it as a mask connected with a high-ranking or ancestral spirit, decorated with a feathered headdress and cowrie shells, which traditionally represented wealth and status.
Another striking item is attributed to the Bété people of Ivory Coast and is described as a Guéré-style war mask dating from approximately 1880–1910, combining human and animal characteristics and incorporating horns.
Two imposing Nkisi/Nkondi power figures, attributed to the Bakongo cultural tradition of the former Belgian Congo region and possibly dating from the latter half of the 19th century, are amongst the most visually dramatic pieces in the collection. Such figures were historically associated with spiritual authority, agreements, oaths and the resolution of disputes, with nails and other objects driven into the figures as part of their ceremonial use.
Other lots include a Dogon carved door associated with a grain or maize store, a Baule ram’s head, an Akan Akua’ba fertility figure, a large Songye-related ancestral or spirit figure, an Ivory Coast oracle staff and a number of masks from different West African traditions.
The collection also contains a small group attributed to celebrated Ivory Coast carver Sabou Bi Botti, including masks, figures and an elaborate sculptural centrepiece featuring human figures, a snake, monkey and tree.
The accompanying notes describe Bi Botti as a master carver associated with the Guro region of Ivory Coast and suggest that these works were produced late in his career. The group is expected to attract particular attention from collectors of later 20th-century African sculpture.
Away from Africa, the collection also includes an unusual pair of Kiribati/Micronesian ceremonial weapons, demonstrating the broader ethnographic interests represented in the group.
Individual estimates presently range from relatively modest sums to around £1,500, giving both established collectors and newcomers an opportunity to acquire pieces from a collection that has apparently remained together and largely unseen for many decades.
The collection provides an intriguing glimpse into an era when traditional African art was increasingly being recognised in Europe not simply as ethnographic material, but as an important artistic tradition in its own right.
The African art collection will form part of Heritage Auctioneers & Valuers’ New Year Auctions on 1st and 2nd January, starting at 9am.
Viewing: Thursday 31st December, 9am–4pm, and from 8am on the morning of the auction.
Further photographs and full individual lot descriptions will be published ahead of the sale.
