Ethnographica & Tribal Art
This category comprises artefacts and works of art made by indigenous peoples.
It began as a collecting area when anthropologists began acquiring and studying these items in the 19th century. Nowadays works are valued for their craftsmanship and decorative quality as well as for their historical and social interest.
The geographical spread in this sector ranges from Oceanic (Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand), African, Native American and South American art. Pre-Columbian works represent a sought-after sector – art from the Americas dating from before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

Tribal show gets into the spirit
07 December 2020Offered by Bryan Reeves of Tribal Gathering for £4200, this Luba baboon mask is one of more than 100 objects on offer at Tribal Art London’s third online event, Spirit Animals.

Korean helmet and Tongan war club
05 October 2020Two lots from Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) sale in Leyburn on September 4. The 17th century Korean leather and steel helmet sold to a South Korean buyer for £4800.

War club to be brandished in North Yorks
31 August 2020This 4ft (1.2m) long Tongan Aku-Tau ironwood war club will feature in a sale of Militaria and Ethnographica to be held by Tennants in Leyburn, North Yorkshire, on September 4.

Knives out to Danish buyer
03 August 2020Two 19th century ‘prestige’ knives from southern Africa attracted unexpected levels of bidding at Grand Auctions (20% buyer’s premium) in Folkestone. Estimated at just £40-80 each, they made a combined £9200.

Tribal focus on the trade and travel impact
22 June 2020A ceremonial woman’s apron from Geelvink Bay, West Papua, Indonesia, is one of the highlights in a new event staged by Tribal Art London (TAL).

Senufo peoples statuette features in Paris tribal art sale
18 May 2020This unpublished carved wooden statuette from the Senufo peoples of south-east Mali, west Africa, is to be offered in a 154-lot sale of Tribal Art to be held on May 26 by Ader in its Paris, rue Favart rooms in collaboration with the Euvrard Fabre auction house.

Australasian artefacts sell at Tennants
06 January 2020Australasia provided the talking points and two main buyers at the recent Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) specialist sale in the Yorkshire Dales.

Post rarity delivers a £24,000 result
28 October 2019Having stood at Guernsey airport from 1946-81, the island post box shown below came out of storage in 1988 for presentation to the late politician and lawyer Roger Perrot who died earlier this year.

Pick of the week: Polynesian war club is a big hit in Salisbury
30 September 2019A tribal war club from the Marquesas Islands with textbook provenance has sold for £71,000 at Woolley & Wallis. The u’u (head club) came for sale at the Salisbury saleroom from the descendants of an early-19th century missionary.

Eclectic sales at London’s 12th tribal gathering
16 September 2019A Madonna and Child sculpture from 19th century Luba culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo was among the sales at Tribal Art London, where the theme was Mother, Muse and Maker.

Social media storm stops Maori cloak auction
09 September 2019Sussex auction house Burstow & Hewett has withdrawn a rare Maori cloak after its imminent sale was met by online threats and abuse.

Latest sales at London’s tribal gathering
09 September 2019Dealer Ian Shaw sold this Tutsi shield, made of lightweight wood with natural pigment and offered for £13,000, to an interior designer from Denmark at last week’s 'Tribal Art London' fair.

PAD London: The prime design destination
09 September 2019This Mayfair event provides an eclectic selection for professionals and public alike

Aboriginal weapons saved from a skip now sell at auction
15 July 2019Saved at the last minute from a skip, a collection of Aboriginal weapons drew worldwide interest at Martel Maides’ sale in St Peter Port, Guernsey.

Go fishing for tribal art in Landshut auction
01 July 2019Numerous 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.

Sale of dealer’s collection of African art led by rare mask at Sotheby’s
22 June 2019Sotheby’s chalked up a premium-inclusive total of just under €11.5m (£10.25m) when it sold the Marceau Rivière collection of African art in Paris.

Meet the ‘last living Surrealist’ – Desmond Morris on painting and collecting
10 June 2019Desmond Morris on his many lives as a zoologist, painter, author and collector

Zulu War relics from extensive collection on offer at Kent auction along with tribal art
03 January 2019Relics from the hard-fought defence of Rorke’s Drift in the Zulu War are among the lots for sale in a Kent auction as part of an extensive collection from the period.

Salisbury saleroom becomes travel hub twice a year to cover tribal art market
08 October 2018The biannual world tour of tribal lands – Alaska to New Zealand via Arizona, Africa and Taiwan – organised by auctioneer Will Hobbs at Woolley & Wallis (25% buyer’s premium) offered a global view of what is an active, if often unpredictable, field.

South Pacific ula and canoe bailer from the family of 19th century murdered missionary hammered down at auction in Dorset
14 April 2018A South Pacific ula throwing club and a Maori canoe bailer that once belonged to an English reverend killed by cannibals in Vanuatu in the 19th century has sold at an auction at Duke's Auctioneers in Dorchester.

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