A Collector's Guide to African Sculpture

by Theodore Toatley

Overview

The power and beauty of traditional African sculpture has influenced 20th century art and design around the world. Found in many museums, its abstract forms, skillful rendering, and deep symbolism has also made it a welcome addition to the homes of private collectors. This new book offers a broad survey of the traditional sculpture that is available in the marketplace. The sculpture shown here covers a span of 100 years and focuses on masks, statuary, and architectural carvings in wood, bronze, and terracotta from sub-Saharan Africa with a sampling of the contemporary work in stone. The works are presented in beautiful color photographs, and accompanied by helpful, informative captions and a guide to values in today's market. The book helps the collector evaluate the quality and authenticity of African sculpture.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780764310669
Publisher:	Schiffer Publishing, Ltd.
Publication date:	04/10/2000
Series:	A Schiffer Book for Collectors Ser.
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Theodore Toatley is the owner of the Gallerie La Taj in Alexandria, Virginia, where the best of African sculpture and art has been offered for 18 years. Douglas Congdon-Martin has written numerous books for collectors, including Masks of the World with Jim Pieper. He resides in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

For a book that purports to offer guidance in collecting African art, there is surprisingly little information provided here. This is primarily a catalog of miscellaneous objects from 18 African countries. A short introduction does give some general background on Africa and its art but only the briefest discussion of the two issues that should be most important to collectors--authenticity and evaluation. The blurry lines between tourist art, reproductions, fakes, and authentic works in Africa deserve much fuller consideration, especially since most of the objects illustrated are given price estimates far below the thousands that most traditionally authentic works bring in salesrooms and at auctions. Each country is described in only a few sentences, while each illustration has a very short description and a price. One would expect that neophyte collectors would want to know more details about the factors that influenced the pricing. The book might have some use for people with little knowledge of but a burgeoning interest in African art, yet they deserve much more. Only for libraries with thorough collectibles holdings.--Eugene C. Burt, Seattle Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Toatley (owner of a gallery of African art) and Congdon-Martin (author of many books for collectors) offer a broad survey of the traditional sculpture that is available in the marketplace. The work shown covers a span of 100 years and focuses on masks, statuary, and architectural carvings in wood, bronze, and terracotta from sub-Saharan Africa, as well as a sampling of the contemporary work in stone. The interesting color photographs are accompanied by informative captions and a guide to values in today's market. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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