African Art -- The World And The Spirits The West African nations like Benin, modern-day Nigeria, Ivory Coast, etc were in contact with Portuguese and other Europeans from the 1500's onward. These wealthy...
People regularly ask whether an item is "a good investment." The truth is that buying art "for investment" is a shaky proposition. One main problem is that art is hard to sell. You need to send it to auction...
Is it authentic or not? When you buy at a flea market or on eBay, there is often no information as to origin and no guarantee of authenticity. This can be a major concern in today's marketplace as there are...
People: Yoruba Location: SW Nigeria Population: Perhaps 20,000,000 Arts: Yoruba beliefs and rituals, gods and spirits, with their blithering array of cults and secret societies, all of which use arts as an...
A Beginner's Guide How to buy, organize, maintain, and display a mask collection Many different cultures produce tribal masks. Some are for tribal rites and religious celebrations, while others are designed...
Dan Passport Masks from Africa Miniature masks often called ‘passport’ or ‘Ma’ masks are found among the various peoples of Liberia and Ivory Coast, including the Dan, Yacuba, Gio, Wenion (We, Guere), Geh,...
Espoused and unconscious motivations for collecting African “antiques”By Gary Croft, Snohomish, WA, USA -- to preserve artifacts originating from “traditional cultures” that, if left “in situ,” would...
People: Songye Location: Southeastern DRC Population: 150,000 Arts: The distinctive art forms of the Songye are universally admired, with major collections and museums having at least one example. The actual...
This has been an interesting journey I have made into learning about the African Artwork I have listed on EBay. I searched first for sites telling me about the different trees and woods that are available in...
The Art of the Zande People of Africa by Steve Messick People: Zande(Azande)Location: NE Democratic Rep of Congo/Sudan/Central African Republic Population: Est. 750,000 Arts: Though limited in quantity, the...