Ethnographica & Tribal Art

A summary of news and events from around the trade

UK auctioneer hails successful sale offering attractive investments to buyers worldwide

An Abelam hornbill sculpture from Papua New Guinea is among the highlights at the Tribal Art Fair in Amsterdam.

David MalÍk made his appearance at Tribal Art London (TAL) worthwhile through the sale of two African sculptures: a Luba female figure and a Chokwe sculpture.

A selection of Oceanic hardwood clubs and shields has come for sale at Sworders in Essex on November 9-10 as part of the auction of objects from the collection of dealer Jan Ellen Finch (1952-2021) of Finch & Co.

The Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas sale at Woolley & Wallis on September 21 includes 270 lots from the collection of tribal and pre-Columbian art assembled by Romy Rey of Richmond, Surrey.

International array of visitors will be strolling the streets during the Parcours des Mondes to peruse and buy tribal art

Tribal Art London returns as an in-person event this year with a roster of more than 20 international exhibitors.

Aboriginal shields come in two basic types: broad shields used for deflecting projectiles and the narrow, compact parrying shields used in close contact fighting.

Overseas interest in tribal art and Doulton Lambeth wares fuelled the higher prices at Cuttlestones’ (20% buyer’s premium) Penkridge sale but it was a new outbreak of cardomania which raised temperatures of collectors across England.

Sperm whale teeth, acquired from mammals that had beached on local reefs, had a deep significance to Fijian society.

Among the most extraordinary of all navigational charts are the lattice ‘stick maps’ used by Marshall Islanders.

Carved from the heart of the toa or ironwood tree, long pole clubs with scalloped blades (akatara) are associated with Rarotonga and Atiu on the Cook Islands.

A previously unrecorded family archive relating to Richard Grindall (1751-1820), an able seaman aboard Cook’s Second Voyage, surfaced for sale in London last week with spectacular results.

This wooden Nagaland pipe from north-east India is offered at this month’s Tribal Art Fair online. Available from Shropshire dealership Handbury Tribal Art, it comes from a UK private collection and is priced at €750.

Fang secret society relic comes with long provenance to French colonial governor

A striking and well-provenanced example of an African mask from the Fang peoples of Gabon is to appear at an auction in the south of France on March 26.

A 19th century sea otter amulet in walrus ivory and baleen fashioned as a mother and her pup sold for £24,000 at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium).

“The owner had no idea what they were or what they might be worth. Not a Scooby.”