Tribal Art 2

 TRIBAL ART

 TRIBAL ART

'TOURIST' AND AUTHENTIC TRIBAL ART

 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.

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.

BUYING TRIBAL ART

 TRIBAL ART

Much tribal art was brought to Britain by people who retired here after a lifetime overseas, which gave them the opportunity to find and purchase genuine items, often for paltry sums. In the past a few collectors have also bought unrecognized valuable pieces for very little in antique shops: a sacred Hawaiian staff, fore example, bought for under£ioo in an English antique shop in 1990, fetched over £50,000 at auction later the same year; and a wooden Easter Island carving bought for £go at a flea market in the United States, was sold at auction in 1990  for     £175000

These days, bargains are rare as most of the best tribal art is in the hands of specialist dealers or collectors who know its value. Even so, buyers who are prepared to learn about the subject, and who choose carefully, can make a good investment. As with collecting of any sort, it is important to buy only pieces that appeal to you, however much - or little - you are planning to spend on your collection.

 TRIBAL ART

The wide range of tribal art objects - from fish-hooks to life-size statues - means that prices vary enormously. Smaller objects that are not particularly old or rare usually cost no more than a few hundred pounds. For older, rarer or exceptionally well-crafted items there is virtually no upper limit, and top prices are now comparable with those for Western art, at around £1 million or more.

Part two of three