SEE THE OTHER PICTURES AS WELL THE DESCRIPTION OF THE OBJECT FOLLOWING THE BACKGROUND HISTORY

ATTENTION PLEASE:

The objects I put on sale are always of good quality and are worth more than the price at which I agree to concede them.

I do not jump to any dating unless I know that my opinion has little chance of being contradicted by knowledgeable professionals. In this case I label them «100% guaranteed to be authentic and ancient»; in any other case, even if I think that the object is ancient but have no way of proving it ( 100% ), I do not dare to suggest any dating.

African art is bought by trusting the eyes and the heart, never the ears!

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BACKGROUND HISTORY       

In the beginning of the ‘60s, I used to live in a forest exploitation in Congo Brazzaville.

The concession where we lived was on the top of a hill that was cleared, lost in the immensity of the dense forest of Congo. Below flowed the river  « Niari ». 

I remember… some evenings when big ceremonies were taking place, I would sit on the terrace of our home and I listen to the tam-tams of the nearby villages inviting the MASKS TO DANCE…

My father and some friends who used to live there for quite some time would collect these « African things », which the majority of the « white » community thought to be ugly, dirty, indifferent and worthless, like crazy.

I am selling here some of the numerous objects collected in Central and Western Africa in the past, as well as some collected « in situ » and in auction sales in Europe. Among these artefacts you will find some very old and sophisticated ones or, on the contrary, very primitive ones; you will also find pieces that I have acquired for their admirable beauty and to pay tribute to the brilliant talent of the African sculptor. 

IT IS IMPERATIVE TO SEE MY PERSONAL PAGE ON THE SUBJECT: GENUINE OR FAKE: OBJECTS OR WORDS.

Many of my objects were presented in auction sales in Europe. Of course, not all of them were bought (on average, 1 out of 3 or even 1 object out of 5 is sold in auction sales).

So these objects were examined by experts, assessed by professionals and published in catalogues for sale. I will present some of them here. In such cases, I will mention it in the sale, and provide proof to the bidder (regardless of whether or not they finally purchase the item).

For those who are set on artefacts dated, I propose pieces dated by the OBJECTIVE AND SCIENTIFIC methods of thermo –luminescence for terracotta, and spectroscopic infrared (devised by the Milan Art and Science museum) for wood.

SEE MY PERSONAL PAGE ON THIS MATTER: OBJECTIVE SCIENTIFIC TESTS OR SUBJECTIVE EXPERTS’ OPINIONS. 

PERPETUAL HUNTER: TO ME, EBAY IS MORE OF A CHANCE TO COMMUNICATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN ORDER TO FIND NEW ARTEFACTS, THAN TO SELL THE OBJECTS I LOVE AT PRICES I KNOW ARE LOW FROM THE VERY START.

SO, IF YOU ARE IN POSSESSION OF OBJECTS THAT YOU BELIEVE ARE OF SOME QUALITY AND OF A HIGHER VALUE THAN WHAT YOU COULD GET ON EBAY, AND/OR IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHERE TO SELL THEM, CONTACT ME.

DESCRIPTION OF THE OBJECT

WOBE MASK:

Claiming to know the age of this mask would be lying, just like someone putting their finger in hot water for a while, and then declaring that its accurate temperature is 43 degrees. 

Let us be very cautious when seeing ages and dates mentioned on ebay and elsewhere, of course. 

Anyone can claim that their collection exceeds a hundred years of age, but such statements must be taken with a pinch of salt, to say the very least. A beautiful African artefact that is proven to be one hundred years old beyond the shadow of a doubt would be worth a fortune…

In Europe, those who are involved in African art agree that the Dogon cult is still very much alive. I would add that, contrary to what people think, the same applies to other African ethnic groups.

Ten years ago, my wife went to live to Etiankro for a while, a small Baoulé village near Dimboukro. Every Wednesday, the villagers who did not go to work in the fields performed a ritual dance, wearing masks, in order to have good crops. The elderly of the village would teach the younger how to dance. 

What I know for sure is that in Africa, next to the very beautiful replicas, one can always find masks or statues, not of first generation but used and, consequently, even more authentic. As regards their age, I believe that a spectroscopic infrared test run in the Milan Museum (finally recognized since a while ago by the Italian court houses) is worth more than any other opinion – even an expert trader’s opinion who is too involved.

WEIGHT: 1,8 kg

DIMENSIONS: 35 x 26 x 17 cm

1inch = 2,5 cm

FOR DISPLAYING YOUR MASKS, I RECOMMEND USING DISPLAY STANDS AVAILABLE IN MY SHOP AT THE PRICE OF 17,99 EUROS.