A Masterpiece of African Art , Luba female caryatid stool by the “Master of the Buli”, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Height 51 cm ; diam. 30,5 cm (20 in, 20 in). Collected by Harry Bombeeck between 1896 and 1899. Brought back to Belgium in 1899. Sold for 5,440,750 €. Photo: Sotheby’s.

PARIS.- A packed saleroom at the Galerie Charpentier for the sale of African & Oceanic Art witnessed fierce competition between collectors (mainly from Europe or America) present at the auction or bidding by telephone. The sale ultimately brought nearly €12m, one of the highest ever totals in the field.

‘What joy for this century to have brought to light the splendours of Ancient African sculpture, whose reign has only just begun’ wrote Paul Guillaume in 1920, in the third issue of Action: Cahier de Philosophie et d’Art. Guillaume was one of the first to anticipate the tremendous upsurge in interest for the arts of Africa and Oceania in the 20th century, and the recognition their masterpieces would enjoy today, now considered as among the world’s greatest historic art treasures.

The sale’s top price will remain in the annals of the history of the African Art market:

€5.4m ($7.1m) for the Luba caryatid stool of the Master of the Buli. The staggering price for this caryatid stool reflects the tremendous esteem in which the the greatest African artists are held, with the Master of the Buli one of the chief among them. The last time a work by the Master appeared at auction was at Sotheby’s London in 1979; it was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art for for, 240,000 £, an international record for a work of African art at the time.

The stool sold in Paris was acquired by Harry Bombeeck in 1896, and brought back to Belgium in 1899. It is considered one of the most towering achievements of the Master of the Buli, due to its exquisite proportions and carving, especially to the majestic head, and by the care lavished on the details of the forward-leaning torso; the inclined, open palms; the four fingers posed delicately on the seat; and the outspread thumb touching the hair. It is probably the finest stool from the Master’s entire known body of work.

The sale opened with a New York Collection that totalled €3.3m ($4.3m), to be 81.6% sold by lot and 92% by value. The sale of this ensemble in Paris concluded a century-old story uniting a handful of men on either side of the Atlantic, for whom securing recognition for African Art was a lifelong goal.

Among the masterpieces in the collection was the Fang head which Paul Guillaume lent to the MoMA for the exhibition of African Negro Art in 1935. The Paul Guillaume Fang Head duly posted the collection’s highest price of €912,750 ($1.2m).

Next, on €198,750 ($$260.800), came a rare, powerful, 11th/12th century Dogon Djennenke torso from Mali – one of a small group of archaic ancestor figures with ‘arms raised in communion with the supreme being’ (Hélène Leloup, 1994).

The 40-lot Lionel Sergent Collection yielded €819,675 ($10.6m) to be 81.6% sold by volume and 94.9% by value – a fitting tribute to the eye of this passionate enthusiast for the art and culture of the peoples he encountered on a daily basis during his 28 years in West Africa. Collectors were especially quick to assess the importance of his Senufo figure from Mali, which almost trebled its high estimate on €294,750 ($386.800).

In the members area you can find pdf files with more details about buyers at this auction , the top prices list, and a video about the master of Buli ...

vente du 13 Juin 2010

Les 12 et 13 juin 2010, Pierre Bergé & associés auront l’honneur de disperser les collections d’Anne et Jacques Kerchache à Drouot Montaigne.

Elles seront représentées en majorité par les Arts Premiers, mais aussi par l’Extrême-Orient, l’Art Contemporain avec des oeuvres de Paul Rebeyrolle, Sam Szafran, par le Surréalisme (Max Ernst), par du mobilier de Designers (Ado Chale, Hervé Van Der Straeten), par une collection d’insectes, de minéraux …

Cet ensemble est avant tout le reflet d’une vie consacrée à la passion des Arts Premiers, mais elle est aussi la manifestation de l’influence des surréalistes dans le choix des objets.

Jacques Kerchache (1942-2001) possédait à la fois la passion de l’oeuvre et le bonheur de la communiquer. Son mentor était Max-Pol Fouchet et ses pairs les surréalistes.
Très jeune, il avait rencontré André Breton et de leurs conversations passionnées était née cette complicité de collectionneurs pour qui l’objet est créateur de mondes.

Jacques Kerchache est à l’origine de l’ouverture du Pavillon des Sessions du Louvre en 2000 à l’initiative du Président de la République Jacques Chirac, qui lui confie alors le projet de concevoir la collection des Arts Premiers.
Jacques Kerchache disparaitra en août 2001, cinq ans avant l’inauguration du musée du quai Branly. Son épouse, Anne Kerchache, en est membre du conseil d’administration.

Née de mère Vietnamienne et de père Sénégalais, Anne a su faire partager à son mari l’âme de l’Afrique noire et celle de l’Asie du Sud-Est.
Sensible à l’intuition capitale qu’elle avait des objets, Jacques Kerchache lui confiait souvent le soin d’acquérir des oeuvres ; grâce à elle, il eut de l’Afrique et de l’Asie une perception complète. Ils partageaient aussi le même plaisir aux montages des expositions, ajustant la présentation de chaque objet, réglant l’implantation des vitrines au millimètre près, relisant les cartels avec la précision et l’exigence qui caractérisaient chacune de leurs interventions.

Devenue Mme Kamal Douaoui, Anne et son époux ouvrent une nouvelle page du livre de leurs passions.

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AFP  04/12/2009 |

Une figure d’ancêtre royal masculin Bangwa du Cameroun s’est vendue aux enchères à Paris 1.017.000 euros avec les frais, tandis qu’un masque Songye (RD du Congo) a atteint 793.000 euros, a annoncé vendredi la maison Christie’s.

La figure camerounaise “est généralement considérée comme le compagnon de la célèbre Reine Bangwa ayant appartenue à Helena Rubinstein et aujourd’hui dans les collections du ...

Important Cameroon Royal Commemorative Male Figure

On the occasion of the 8th annual Parcours des Mondes, Christie’s Paris invites you to preview highlights from our 4 December 2009 sale: African Art: A Private Collection.
Among the works exhibited, an important Cameroon Royal Commemorative Male Figure will be on view.

Champagne Reception and Book Signing for the reprint edition of Provenance by Hermione Waterfield and J.C.H. King ...

Fang Mask, Gabon. Estimate: 70,000—100,000 EUR. Photo: Sotheby’s.

see also the coming  african art auctions agenda

PARIS.- The success of the sales of African & Oceanic Art in New York on May 15 shows that collectors’ interest in rare objects in this field remains strong whatever the price-level. The two auctions

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newsletter for members. May 14, 2009

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Sale: N08549 Fri, 15 May 09, 10:00 AM at Sotheby’s New York

Sotheby’s New York has scheduled a major auction of tribal art from the Gross collection of African and Oceanic Art.

May 15, 2009 is the date.

The collection was amassed by Chaim and Renee Gross during the 1940s and 1950s.

See  a 3D view of the house, more than 4OO images taken by David Norden into the house and read more,

Selected pieces from this up-coming Sotheby’s New York sale are on photo-exhibit:

View inside the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation

The Sculptor’s Eye

Sotheby’s to Offer African & Oceanic Art from the Renee and Chaim Gross Foundation Collection

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By Scott Reyburn

Feb. 23, 2009 ( found at Bloomberg) — A wooden sculpture by Constantin Brancusi sold tonight in Paris for 29.2 million euros ($37.2 million) with fees, a record for the artist’s works at auction, as Christie’s International started its three-day sale of the collection of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge.

Inspired by African tribal sculpture, the 3-foot, 11-inch high modernist work, entitled “Madame L.R. (Portrait de Mme L.R.),” dated 1914-17, is a three-dimensional portrait of the Parisian art enthusiast Leonie Ricou.

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