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Message:: [QUOTE="2manybooks, post: 2337767, member: 8267"]Hello again, [USER=15422]@antiguamarie[/USER]. I feel fairly competent to help assign an object to a general region or tribal style. But I am not knowledgeable enough to suggest a date for specific pieces. African artists have been making things for sale to outsiders since the colonial era, (and in fact much earlier for some types of objects such as ivory carvings). Interest in their work increased in the early 20th century, when European artists such as Picasso and Matisse adapted traditional African esthetics. The interplay of African artistic production and western selection/demand is complex, and can either encourage new forms or create pressure to solidify and stagnate a style by insisting on “authentic” forms. “Authenticity” is a slippery concept. Often it refers to some ideal of pre-contact purity (pre-European contact), as if traditional cultures existed in some sort of isolated, unchanging bubble. This is a problem that has been much explored in the literature on ethnographic art. In anthropological collections, the emphasis has been placed on objects made and used within the culture of origin, with the belief that such objects best reflect the standards and esthetics of the particular culture. But without well documented provenance, it may be difficult to determine if a particular object was made for sale, or made for use in the original culture and then sold or collected. Ethnographic objects displayed in art museums are usually (but not always) a subset of this “made for use” category, selected for the quality of their production and esthetic appeal (to an educated European eye). In practice, there can be levels of authenticity. Was it made by an African? (Beware of copies of African styles being made by Indonesian carvers.) Is the carver working in the style traditional to his ethnic group? Or is he combining features from a variety of styles, exaggerating or embellishing, in response to what he thinks the outside buyers will prefer? Is the artist working on commission for a specific use, or does he/she produce goods for the local market that might be purchased by members of their own group, by other local ethnicities, or by outsiders? Under these circumstances, is an object purchased by an outsider any less “authentic” than another that might be bought by a member of the same group? As I said earlier, the standard of “made for use in an original context” can be difficult to achieve. I believe that it would be safest to assume that the majority of African art on the market was made for sale, (at least when it comes to wood carvings). So, one way to approach selecting something to buy would be to assess if it is a well-executed example of a particular style. And, as with all types of collecting, do you like it? With regard to the 3 pieces you have posted here, I do not see the “Dogon” or Yoruba objects as particularly high quality examples of the relevant style. Dogon pieces are usually more slender, with greater separation between the arms and the torso, which highlights the carver’s skill. The Yoruba piece is also rather clunky. And the Baule figure is less elegant than many. Clearly, you have an interest in African art. I would recommend that you invest in some reference books, particularly catalogs of well documented collections published by museums. One general reference that I have found quite helpful is The Tribal Arts of Africa, by Jean-Baptiste Bacquart. It is a good introduction to the great variety of styles produced on the African continent. The goal is to train your eye by studying examples that are well identified, and vetted by people knowledgeable in the various styles of art. The internet is awash with misidentified and poor quality examples, so it is not the best place to learn about this subject. The exception would be the websites of museums that allow you to study their collections.[/QUOTE]

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