Around 500 visitors attended the event, which ran from September 5-8 at the Mall Galleries. It coincided with two major events: the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s (1728-79) earliest expedition to the South Pacific and the publication of a new book, African Twilight: The vanishing rituals and ceremonies of the African continent, by photographers Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. The book launched during the show with 51 copies selling.
Thanks to the Captain Cook anniversary, one focus of the fair was Oceanic art – which is also currently celebrated at the Royal Academy’s exhibition Oceania (until December 10). Several pieces from that field sold particularly well such as a Samoan war club, which was offered by Emmanuel Ameloot and Serge Le Guennan, a Dayak paddle from Borneo priced at £3500 on the stand of first-time exhibitor Philip Keith, and a Barak mosquito mask from Papua New Guinea, which was ticketed at around £7500 on the stand of Adam Prout.
“We’re pleased. We’ve met and sold to new people and regular collectors and have made some useful connections,” said a representative of Marcuson & Hall from Belgium. Among its stand-out sales was one of the highest ticketed items: a large carved wooden ceremonial box from Benin which had an asking price in excess of £10,000.
Here is a look at five more sales from the fair.
From Sri Lanka…
Ethnographic art dealer Adam Prout sold this 18th-19th century jewellery box from Kandy, a large city in central Sri Lanka. It had an asking price of £1800. Prout, who is co-founder of the fair, reported selling something each day. He also sold two Barak mosquito masks from Papua New Guinea.
From Nepal…
Nepalese ghurras, such as the one pictured, are sculpted wooden tools designed to keep a milk churning rod in place. These objects have ritualistic overtones as the process of churning is linked to the Nepalese creation myth, which describes that the gods churned men to life in the primal ocean. Louis Nierijnck from the Netherlands sold a number of ghurras, priced from £250-1500, from a significant collection during the fair.
From Vanuatu…
Marcus Raccanello sold this Malekula Nabwikai mask from Vanuatu, made with boar’s tusk, fibre and resin and used in taboo ceremonies (sacred initiation rituals). It comes from a private collection in Vanuatu and sold to a new customer who also had connections to the island. It had an asking price in the region of £5000.
From the Cook Islands…
The missionary Rev John Williams (1796-1839) brought this mulberry bark Tapa cloth from Rarotonga or Aitutaki back to England on his last visit home. It was offered on the stand of Joss Graham for a ticket price of £4000, where it sold during the fair.
From Burkina Faso…
This Mossi or Tiv figure is made of wood and metal and is thickly encrusted with libation deposits. It stands 21in (53cm) tall and features tapered arms which hang away from an elongated torso with disc-shaped breasts. Made in the late 19th or early 20th century, the object was offered for £4200 at the stand of David Malik and was among several pieces he sold, including an important Congolese ‘Mboko’ wood female bowl bearer.
