African Art Club

Christies will sell the Kahane Collection in Paris

At the end of the month of November there will be a new episode in the battle between Sotheby’s and Christies to dominate the world of Tribal Arts on his highest level.  Sotheby’s is moving most of the Tribal Art auctions from New York to Paris since it seems that more new European clients are interested, and the American market still is in a deep crisis despite Obama efforts .

While Christies was sluggish the last years in his Tribal art auctions against Christies, they reorganised the Tribal Art departement completly, and are now focusing on higher end masks and statues in the hope to attract those clients willing to pay hundred of thousands of euros for the African Art, and got in association with a french auctioneer and got a new curator Charles – Wesley Hourdé that you will hear about in the upcoming auctions.

At Christies they found an impressive collection in Switserland: ” The Kahane collection” with a stuning iconic Baule mask that will make hundred of thousands and an impressive Fang estimate more than 700,000€, curious to see if they will get it.  The Kahane Collection of African Art is a revelation. Six masterpieces demonstrate Isidor Kahane’s keen eye and astute intuition for works of art of exceptional quality, regardless of category. Acquired over 50 years ago over the course of thirteen years, these works have lived together, quietly, in tranquil existence overlooking a glorious Swiss lake and its surrounding mountains. More details expalantions and a link to the images slideshow below in the members sections.

At Sotheby’s they are selling in Paris a 50 lots New York collection.

The recognition of African sculpture as art dates to the beginning of the 20th century, when a handful of men from both sides of the Atlantic brought about a decisive change in our perception of these important sculptures.

If it was in Paris that Modern artists discovered what was then termed ‘Negro Art’, it was in New York, in 1935, that it was first presented as art to the general public. In 1935, African Negro Art, one of the most groundbreaking exhibitions of its time, opened at the recently founded Museum of Modern Art.

James Johnson Sweeney, Director of MoMA, solicited the collaboration of the renowned Parisian dealer, Charles Ratton, in selecting the objects from both French and American collections.

From 1935 to the present, the connections between New York and Paris have continued to link Modern and African art. The dynamic relationship between the two fields is at the core of this exceptional New York Collection.

The 50 sculptures at sales in Paris from Sotheby’s were selectively acquired in New York and Paris over the last 30 years and have lived side by side in this collection with the collection of Modern drawing and Indian sculptures.

The most iconic African object in the Sotheby’s collection is a Fang Reliquary Guardian Head from Gabon , exhibited at MoMA in 1935 and formerly in the collection of Paul Guillaume.

Many sculptures from the collection, including the exceptionally dynamic form of the Mumuye figure, directly link to the vocabulary of Cubism and are intimately connected with the development of Modern Art movements.

In the members section there is also a video from Christies explaining more about the Kahane collection and a discussion of both auction’s results.
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EDITORIAL NOTE: A few pieces but strong selection  and known provenance with a twist of well selected tribes and clients that are educated to get the best quality at the highest prices, these seem to be the rules for success of Sothebys. David Norden

PARIS— Sotheby’s concluded its June sales of Oceanic and African art in Paris on Wednesday, achieving a total of $8,448,741.

Of the 82 lots on offer, 12 works from the collection of Marsha and John Friede spurred a fierce bidding competition, with many pieces exceeding their estimates. The highest-earning work in the sale was an early-19th-century Hembigurea ancestor figure from the Congo, which fetched $1,042,109 above the high estimate of $619,150. This June marks the 50th anniversary of the Congo’s independence.

Other top lots included a 42-inch carved female figure by a craftsman of the Inyai-Ewa People, which earned $685,133; the work had previously been in the collection of Douglas Newton, a former curator, who built The Michael C. Rockefeller Memorial Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Another crouching female figure that had been included in the first show of Oceanic art in the U.S., at Pierre Matisse Gallery in New York in 1934, was sold for $476,897, a price that more than doubled the high estimate.

Oceanic art has inspired numerous modern masters such as Paul Klee, Alberto Giacometti, and Pablo Picasso. The sales in New York last month and Paris on Wednesday showed a continued global interest in collecting this category as they achieved strong prices far exceeding the estimates.

A detail of the 19th-century Hembigurea ancestor figure from the Congo that sold for $1,042,109:

more images, details etc ..: ...

 Carefully Curated Ensembles of African & Oceanic Art to Be Offered at Sotheby’s

A small auction in quantity with good quality pieces

Superb and rare Chokwe Finial from a scepter tobacco box, Angola. Estimate: 80,000-120,000 EUR. Photo: Sotheby’s.

 

 

PARIS.- On June 16 in Paris, Sotheby’s will offer one of the most carefully curated ensembles of African & Oceanic Art to be offered on the market in recent years. The works come from a number of esteemed private collections, including the famous Friede collection, and the sale is divided equally between Oceania and Africa. The objects have been selected based on their quality and rarity, reflecting the talent of the great artists of these two continents.

More and more Sotheby’s is looking to attract the high end of the market and customers willing to pay above the 15,000 €,  they discovered people are ready to pay much money for pieces with a perfect provenance and beauty, the last auctin in New York even had half of the pieces selling for way above the hugh estimates . They become more and more selective in the choice of pieces, but it is a joy for the eye, so if in Paris don’t miss the preview of the pieces, even if you can’t afford to buy something.

View the pdf catalogue :

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