African Art Club

Benin Ivory Rare, Newly Re-Discovered Masterpiece of African Art NOT to Be Sold at Sotheby’s London in February 2011

Ivory pendant mask, Edo people, Kingdom of Benin, Nigeria. Estimate: £3,500,000-4,500,000. Photo: Sotheby’s.

Fact is that a controversy started around this object quite fast and that the Edo State Government requested a cancellation of the auction through the United Nations. Also some Facebook group requested to Stop The Sale of Stolen 16th Century Benin Mask and got more than 500 fans quite fast

SOTHEBY’S STATEMENT REGARDING CANCELLATION OF BENIN SALE

“The Benin Ivory Pendant Mask and other items consigned by the descendants of
Lionel Galway which Sotheby’s had announced for auction in February 2011 have
been withdrawn from sale at the request of the consignors.”

LONDON.- On 17th February 2011, Sotheby’s will sell a rare, newly re-discovered, 16th century ivory pendant mask depicting the head of the Queen mother from the Edo peoples, Kingdom of Benin in Nigeria along with five other rare works from Benin collected at the same time.

Only four other historical ivory pendant masks with related iconography of this age and quality are known – all of which are housed in major museums around the world1. All of the ivory masks are widely recognized for the quality of their craftsmanship, for the enormous scale of Benin’s artistic achievement and for their importance in the field of African art. Produced for the Oba (or King) of Benin, these ivory pendant masks are testament to the Kingdom of Benin’s golden age when the kingdom flourished economically, politically and artistically.

The masks rank among the most iconic works of art to have been created in Africa. The mask to be sold at Sotheby’s in February is estimated at £3.5-4.5* million. It had been on public view in 1947 as part of a loan exhibition at the Berkeley Galleries in London entitled ‘Ancient Benin’, and then again in 1951 in ‘Traditional Sculpture from the Colonies’ at the Arts Gallery of the Imperial Institute in London.

read more inside about the mask and an article about the Planned Sales Of Stolen Benin Artefacts: EDSG Urges UN Intervention

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Iacovlev painting.

A Dream of Africa . Images of a Continent at the « Golden Age » of Colonisation

 1920-1940 Exhibition 

3.12.2010 > 28.3.2011 

Exposition ”L’Afrique rêvée ”Images d’un continent à ”l’Age d’Or” de la colonisation 1920-1940.                                                           Du samedi 04 Déc. 2010 au lundi 28 Mars 2011

Africa in the Limelight

In this year of commemoration of the major African independences, and especially that
of the Congo, the former Belgian colony, it has deemed appropriate to illustrate how this
particular country, but also in the broad sense Central and tropical Africa around it, inspired the vision of Western travelling artists (painters, sculptors, photographers) who went over these territories to explore their landscapes and marvel at their peoples at a key moment in their history (the 1920s and 1930s), often described as the “golden age” of colonisation.



An exhibition in Belgium tells the story.. More explanations, a slideshow and practical details for the members inside ...

Please see below an album with a  small selection of my recent acquisitions I am showing in Paris.

If you like what you see or have any question please send an email to David Norden or call +32 3 227.35.40 and tell me the page nr you like. Use the first button below the book to enlarge plain page.

If you zoom in, double click to zoom out or use the button on the lower left to zoom out. I also recommend to view the album plain page (first button on the lower left)

If you have any question please send an email to David Norden or call +32 3 227.35.40