Ethnographica & Tribal Art

An example of a 'ngaady a mwaash' mask made by the Bushoong Kuba peoples is among the large offering of female-themed items at the next staging of 'Tribal Art London' (TAL).

Saved at the last minute from a skip, a collection of Aboriginal weapons drew worldwide interest at Martel Maides’ sale in St Peter Port, Guernsey.

'La Biennale Paris' and 'Parcours des Mondes' bring the dealing scene in the French capital back to life after summer slumbers, while auction houses also rise to the occasion. We take an early glimpse at what will be on offer for the visitor in September.

Numerous tribes inhabit the Cross River state of south-eastern Nigeria, close to the border with Cameroon. Animals of many kinds play a major part in the myths and religions of the area.

Desmond Morris on his many lives as a zoologist, painter, author and collector

This 1880s Haida painted wood raven rattle, 12¾in (32cm) high, has a provenance to the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society and the collection of the late Johnson S Bogart, San Francisco.

Tribal art makes regular saleroom appearances in Paris, which is one of the major commercial centres in this sector.

At the Drouot auction centre on June 6 the Paris firm of Binoche et Giquello will be selling a third instalment from a US collection of pre-Columbian works from Meso, Central and South America which is expected to realise in the region of €3m-4m.

Antiquities and tribal art will be on offer at Chiswick Auctions in west London on June 27.

The market for tribal art covering works from Africa, Oceania and the Americas has a global reach these days. While particular centres form cultural and commercial hubs (New York, Paris and Brussels in particular), you can find fairs and shows, shops and auctions around the world. Recent sale highlights and previews from some of the upcoming auctions and fairs are featured here.

Spring is a traditional point in the saleroom calendar for New York to mount its tribal art auctions.

Tribal art is a sector with truly international appeal and fairs and shows go on throughout the year across various locations.

Paris is a centre for auctions of Pre-Columbian art. On March 18 Copages is offering an Italian collection of works that were sourced from major salerooms such as Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Loudmer as well as specialist dealers like Galerie Mermoz and the Emmeritz Gallery.

On April 9 Christie’s will be holding a Pre-Columbian sale featuring the 90-lot collection formed by Felix and Heidi Stoll from Basel as well as around 50 pieces from other vendors.

With so many tribal art galleries concentrated in Brussels it is no surprise to find 10 specialists in the field showing at BRAFA, six of them from the Belgian capital.

A North-west Coast Tlingit pipe in the form of a bear will be offered at an upcoming auction in Boston.

Tribal art is very much a strength of the Paris art market, with sales taking place throughout the year.