From
the goldsmiths of Ghana and the ivory workers of old African kingdoms
to the woodcarvers and weapons makers of the South Sea islands,
tribal craftsmen have left a legacy of a way of life
now
rapidly disappearing,any
object
from a tribal culture, past or ! present, whether used for household
purposes or as part of spiritual life, is considered to he tribal
art. Most of the tribal art in Britain comes from central or southern
Africa, the Pacific islands, Australia or New Zealand, but native
American objects also appear on the market occasionally.
Tribal
art first reached Europe in the late 15th century when explorers
started to bring back pieces for their patrons. Most of the objects
became the property of royal and papal courts, where the first
collections began.
Nineteenth-century
colonial expansion brought other connections with far-off places. An
1897 British military expedition to the Benin Kingdom in West Africa
found a highly developed culture with court artists expertly casting
bronzes and historical plaques. Some magnificent ivory carvings were
also found. Today Benin bronzes are some of the most valuable tribal
art works, fetching hundreds of thousands of pounds on the rare
occasions when they come on the market.
In
this century tribal art has become more widely popular, partly
because its influence is clearly seen in the work of artists such as
Matisse and Picasso. Many missionaries and diplomats returning from
abroad brought back traditional objects, further stimulating interest
and feeding the European market. Since the 1950s, modern travel has
opened up ever more remote places to specialists and travellers, who
now bring back most of the traditional objects reaching the West.
'TOURIST'
AND AUTHENTIC TRIBAL ART
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| TRIBAL ART |
Some
of the pieces travellers bring home with them were genuinely made and
used in tribal life before being sold, but this is increasingly
unusual. With spreading Western influence, thriving local traditions
and tribal cultures have declined the whole world over, and many
traditional-looking hand crafts are now produced just for the tourist
market. Most of this 'tourist' or 'airport' art is poorly executed
and exaggeratedly exotic. Rarely, a carver may produce a piece of
intrinsic artistic merit, such as the Yaure mask Otherwise,
these works have no collector's value.
Experts
apply strict standards of authenticity to tribal art: an object
must be made by a master
craftsman, and in the traditional manner. It intended for a ritual
purpose, the correct ceremonies should have been carried out -
although even experts can find this hard to establish. And the object
should have been used for its intended purpose - preferably for some
time - before being sold.
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| TRIBAL ART |
For
amateurs without much experience, evaluating a piece can be
difficult. The best way to develop an eye for the real thing is to
visit collections in museums and salerooms as often as possible, to
become familiar with the sort of objects you are interested in.
Pay
special attention to the look and feel of an object: it can reveal a
great deal about age and use. For example, genuine carvings by the
Fang people of equatorial west Africa have an oily appearance and
sometimes appear to 'sweat' because of the way the wood has been
treated. Ivory handles on fly whisks should be smooth and shiny if
they have been well used, a look which curios made for tourists will
never have. A real Maori hand club will feel well balanced, but an
imitation will not.
Part one of three
Part one of three
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