TEMP - oceanic art market
Oceanic Art Market
In 2001, more than three decades after René Gaffé’s death, his collection was auction in a joint venture between Christie’s and étude Loudmer. His modern paintings were sold by Christie’s in New York, while his collection of African, Oceanic and Central American art was auctioned off by Parisian commissaires-priseurs Artus Associés and Calmels Chambre Cohen in Christie’s newly opened Parisian sale rooms under the aegis of Guy Loudmer. The heuristic interest of this event lies in the fact that it opened up two perspectives: one on collecting and the art market of the 1920s and 1930s, the other...read more
We all knew the Barbier-Mueller auction at Christies Paris was going to be monumental and break all sorts of records. So I wanted to be there in person, to witness something historical that would be talked about and referred to for decades. But that was not all, there was a more personal reason I wanted to be present. One of the objects being offered was once one of mine. Lot 52 was the great Astrolabe Bay mask I acquired from the Wartburg Theological Seminary and had sold to John Paul Barbier-Mueller just a few months before his death in 2016, a mask Laurence Mattet, managing director of the Barbier-Mueller Museum, referred to as...read more
As 2023 came to an end, I thought it useful to look back at the auction results for the past year to see if trends I’ve seen in my own business also took place in public sales. After doing so, I was struck by how similar my conclusions are today compared to what I wrote four years ago in my 2020 Oceanic Art Market Report, but conditions have become even more extreme—specifically that the large supply of pieces visible online result in increasingly discerning collectors. In other words, more objects to view enable more opportunities for comparison, resulting in buyers becoming better educated and more...read more
The collection of African, Amerindian and Oceanic art of jeweler, antiques dealer, and art lover Michel Périnet (1930-2020) was put up for sale by Christie’s in Paris last June 23rd. Even before it was held, the auction was the talk of the town, both in art market circles and in the press. A well-known collector in many areas, from Art Deco furniture to modern art, and of René Lalique’s creations and Pont-Aven school painting, Périnet was...read more
The report analyzes the rise in the market for Polynesian clubs from 1999 to 2019 with a special focus on Marquesas Islands U’u and Maori Taiaha—ultimately asking the question that when times really get bad what would you rather have in your hand—a sturdy Polynesian club or a flimsy stock certificate?...read more
An analysis of 2019 auction results of Oceanic art
to determine trends, strengths and opportunities....read more
Ancestral spirit figures from the Sepik River Basin are some of the most iconic and sought-after pieces of Oceanic art. But how exactly do these differences in aesthetics and age translate into differences in financial value? Let’s look at the auction results of eight Sepik figures from the full spectrum of the market to determine what factors warranted the price realized....read more