Ethnographica & Tribal Art

Themed exhibitions at this year’s Parcours des Mondes link ethnographic art with Surrealist movement

Late last year auctioneer and valuer Mark Huddleston received three images of a chief’s staff or pole club along with an ‘is this worth anything’ enquiry. The vendor had inherited it from his family who (by repute) had done Presbyterian missionary work in Polynesia in the 19th century.

A Polynesian ladle surfaced in a Derbyshire saleroom, selling for nearly five-times its £500-700 estimate.

Ian Shaw is a specialist in tribal art and his recent projects include enhancing the gallery room of his Glasgow premises.

An early 20th century carving by Lagos pastor and artist Thomas Ona of a district commissioner is among the works available at this month’s Tribal Art Fair online.

Cologne auction house Lempertz (25% buyer’s premium) opened its auction year with a sale of African and Oceanic works of art in Brussels.

The Barbier-Mueller family is well known as a collecting dynasty, especially for its ethnographic art.

A 19th century Native American wolf mask, once used in religious ceremonies on the Northwest coast, emerged from the obscurity of a £50-100 estimate to bring £14,000 at auction in Hertfordshire.

An 18th century Native American trade axe pipe linked to the great Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh (1768-1813) was the runaway performer when the collection of Ohio dealer and entrepreneur Bruce Knight was dispersed in the first days of the New Year.

Malagan figures played an integral and complex role in the rituals of the tribes of New Ireland, the north-eastern province of Papua New Guinea.

A boat modelled out of cloves created in the Moluccan islands of Indonesia is among the highlights at 'Tribal Art Fair Amsterdam'.

Items from the Robert and Nancy Nooter collection of ethnographic art come for sale at Ararity Auctions in Lorton, Virginia, on October 1.

Massive ornamental hair combs such as this are associated with the East Sumbanese people of modern Indonesia.

The Decorative Fair returns from October 3-8 for its third and final staging of the year.

Latest edition of the tribal art event in Paris now includes a special showcase for six new faces

Tribal Art London (TAL) is to take place in person this autumn thanks to the organisers of The Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair stepping in with a venue.

The best-known type of Maori jewellery is the pounamu (greenstone) hei tiki pendants, the figural carvings representing ‘the first man’ that were typically worn by women.