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Murray Frum’s African Sculptures Lead Sotheby’s Paris Sale

November 19, 2018 by Marion Maneker

The New York Times reveals today that the Met Museum in New York is about embark upon a thorough renovation of its African, Oceanic and Americas galleries where tribal and primitive art are displayed. The 40,000 square foot wing will focus more distinctly on each region rather than allowing the presentations to run into each other. At the same time, Sotheby’s Paris has revealed that the estate of one of the great collectors of African and Oceanic art, Murray Frum, has consigned two African works to lead their December 12 auction.

The two works come from recognized masters. The first is a Luba Shankadi, the Master of the Cascading Hairstyle; the second, a reliquary figure Kota Obamba by the Master of the Sebe (above). Here’s Sotheby’s description of the works:

In 2014, Sotheby’s sold Murray Frum’s outstanding collection, built over half a century, distinguished by Polynesian works of great rarity, remarkable quality and historical provenances.

The Master of the Cascading Hairstyle

It is exceptional to be able to attribute an African work of art to an identified artist. The hand of a sculptor Luba Shankadi, nicknamed the ‘Master of Cascade Hairstyle’, was identified around 1960 by the great specialist William Fagg. The first neck support of this hand was collected in 1901 by Brissoni and is now part of the collections of the Museo di Antropologia ed Etnologia in Florence. Only eighteen works of this kind are known to date, most of them in the collections of the most prestigious institutions – from the Metropolitan Museum in New York to the British Museum in London.

This masterpiece from the Frum collection is arguably the most emblematic and sophisticated sculpture of the Master of Cascade Hairstyle because of its deep patina that testifies to a continuous and privileged use, the rarity of its iconography, and especially the visual dynamism of his form and his character. For the third time since 2006, Sotheby’s will have the privilege of selling in Paris one of the rare works of this master sculptor.

Figure of Reliquary, Kota Obamba, by the Master of the Sébé Gabon 

With less than a dozen works now known, the corpus created by the Master of the Sebé is one of the rarest of African art but also one of the most archaic.

While respecting Expressionist norms specific to Kota sculpture, this Master has gone beyond classical canons by creating a unique set of works. Preserved for almost a quarter of a century in the Frum collection, this reliquary figure brilliantly illustrates both the exceptional technical know-how of the Master of the Sebe Valley and his individual artistic genius.

This artist, active between 1750 and 1800, fed on the artistic currents of the region that he knew how to transcend in order to contain in a motionless form the imperious presence of the ancestor. Then there is the virtuoso composition juxtaposing the extremely thin plates of metal with very narrow slats in a subtle play of chromatic nuances accentuating the visual power of the work.

Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary African Art = £1.8m

March 30, 2018 by Marion Maneker

Ablade Glover, Ghananian Market Intrigue (8-12k GBP) 23,750 GBP

The market for African art continues to expand as Sotheby’s joins Bonhams in creating successful sales in the category. Led by a not-immediately-recognizable Njideka Akunyili Crosby work that made £200k over a £70k high estimate, Sotheby’s sale realised £1,802,750 ($2,555,038) or pretty much in line with the pre-sale estimates of between £1,167,500-1,707,000:

  • Ben Enwonwu, whose work Africa Dances achieved six times its high estimate to sell for £187,500 / $265,744 (est. £20,000-30,000)
  • Njideka Akunyili Crosby‘s À La Warhol, a self-portrait inspired by the silk screen portraits of Andy Warhol, sold for over double its high estimate to reach £200,000 / $283,460 (est. £50,000-70,000)
  • Bodys Isek Kingelez’s Base King soared past its presale estimate to sell for £42,500 / $60,235 (est. £10,000-15,000)
  • Eddy Kamuanga Ilunga’s Mangbetu, achieved £65,000 / $92,124, storming past the pre-sale estimate (est. £8,000-12,000)
  • Claudette Schreuders Three Sisters sold for £60,000 / $85,038 (est. £18,000-22,000)

Sotheby’s provided some statistics to go along with the sale:

  • 62 artists from 16 countries across Africa: Algeria, Morocco (North Africa), Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast , Mali, Nigeria, Senegal (West Africa), Ethiopia (East Africa), Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon (Central Africa), South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (Southern Africa)
  • 28 works (25% of the sale) were by artists from South Africa
  • Only 6 works in the sale have ever been at auction before (5% of the sale)

Bidders and Buyers

  • Buyers from 33 different countries
  • One third of the successful bidders were from the African continent
  • 19% of buyers were new to Sotheby’s

Bonhams Rediscovers Nigerian Icon for February Sale

February 8, 2018 by Marion Maneker

Bonhams is trying something new with their African art sale at the end of February. The sale will be simulcast to an audience in Lagos, Nigeria where bidders will be able to participate directly in the sale:

Tutu, a portrait of the Ife royal princess Adetutu Ademiluyi painted in 1974 by the Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, leads Bonhams Africa Now sale in London on Wednesday 28 February. Enwonwu painted three versions of Tutu during 1973–74, and the image became a symbol of national reconciliation for a country struggling for unity in the wake of the Nigerian–Biafran conflict of the late 1960s. All three paintings had been considered lost until the discovery of the current picture for sale.

The series was of great personal significance to Enwonwu. The first painting, executed in 1973, remained in the artist’s studio until his death in 1994. It was lost at some point after that, and its current whereabouts are unknown. The location of the third Tutu painting is also a mystery, leaving the work for sale at Bonhams as the only known example of the image.

Bonham’s Director of Modern African Art, Giles Peppiatt said, “The portrait of Tutu is a national icon in Nigeria, and of huge cultural significance. It is very exciting to have discovered the only painting of the series that we now know still exists.  Its appearance on the market is a momentous event and we expect it to generate enormous interest.”

The auction will also include six artworks originally in the collection of the renowned art patron and philanthropist, Jean Pigozzi. When Pigozzi visited the seminal exhibition at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Magiciens de la Terre, in 1989, he was greatly excited by a number of works by contemporary African artists, many of whom had never before exhibited overseas.

Bonhams Africa Now = £1.46m

October 13, 2017 by Marion Maneker

African Art’s Emerging Global Popularity Is a Double-Edged Sword

May 22, 2017 by Marion Maneker

Power Figure (Nkisi N’Kondi: Mangaaka), 19th century
Kongo peoples; Yombe group (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

After Sotheby’s coltish debut African art sale in London last week, Princeton art historian Chika Okeke-Agulu wrote an op-ed for the New York Times comparing African art to a gentrifying urban neighborhood that displaces the original residents.

Okeke-Agulu’s concern is that Africa is only now beginning to get a few museums. Though he does acknowledge that the presence of African collectors who might eventually found or contribute to museums, Okeke-Agulu points out that Africa’s greatest art has been repeatedly looted by foreigners:Continue Reading

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