warfare
Stewart Dalby
It is my wife’s birthday soon, and going through a catalogue from the London auctioneers, Bonham’s, has given me an original idea for a present.
I work at home and look after the children. My wife goes to the office. In the evenings I moan about bringing up children without help and how I hate getting stuck in traffic on the school run.
She has the familiar litany of complaints about the state of public transport, and how the atmosphere of every office has changed with the “no- jobs-for-life-any-more” philosophy and downsizing.
In the catalogue for its auction of Tribal and Pre-Columbian Art, Bonham’s says: “At war in the office? Why not arm yourself against the modern world with a pair of delicately carved 19th- century fighting boomerangs from south- east Australia, estimated at 400 and 600 or a Figgian assassin’s club complete with skull-piercing spike.”
The club sounds a bit excessive ,but the boomerang seems perfect, especially now that most offices are open plan. But can I still afford it?
Five years ago tribal art was not a terribly active collectible field. There is a vast range of tribal artefacts around the world but, with the exception of Australian aboriginal art, opportunities to buy two- dimensional art are limited.
But there is a great deal of other art – sculptures, wood carvings, jewellery, blankets, pottery, basketwork and weaponry – that is now actively collected.
Boomerangs are a case in point. Philip Keith, a specialist at Bonham’s, says: “Boomerangs, now estimated at 400 to 600, would five years ago have fetched 60. Aboriginal parrying shields are fetching several thousand pounds. Five years ago you could buy one for 200.”
But West African art tops the market. The record for tribal art is thought to be the 3-million paid in New York for a Bangwa Queen sculpture from Cameroon.
Keith stresses that condition is very important, but provenance is the key. There are many fakes and collectors want to know where a piece was found, under what conditions and whether it has been in any museums or collections.
ENDS