We recently read about the Tribal Art London (TAL), which opens in October in London, and is considered an important art event in the realm of folk and tribal art. Bringing together tribal works of art, and original cultural objects from around the world, the event draws collectors, institutions, and interior designers. Though with approximately 20 show participants, the fair is much smaller in size than some international art fairs, it has nonetheless created an event calendar for this fragmented cultural space.
Parcours de Mondes, perhaps the oldest and the biggest in volume, with approximately 50 exhibitors, is held in September each year in Paris, attracting a dedicated clientele of connoisseurs and dealers alike.
The Tribal Art Fair Amsterdam, is similar in scale to TAL and is held in late October every year. In comparison, Santa Fe International Folk Market, held in July each year, in the United States of America, hosts approximately 250 galleries and dealers, specializing in indigenous art forms and objects, with a special focus on supporting individual artists from the region.
While the Sante Fe Folk Market embodies a larger focus of living artists, artworks and crafts, the European fairs focus on tribal antiquities from Africa, Polynesia and the far east, with some rugs and tribal jewelry.
An obvious deduction is that Paris, London and United States are the key players in the folk and tribal art market. These are also the places where auctions are held.
Major auction houses, including Christies and Sotheby’s hold specialized auctions for tribal, folk art and artefacts, which have continued to see a steady rise. While no real study is available to assess the quantum of growth or specific trends with respect to origin or type of art, what is clear is the steady increase in volume and price points.
For example, in June 2023, Christie’s Paris held the sale of Michel Perinet’s collection of tribal art and antiquities, which resulted in an impressive €66mn (approximately US$69mn) total sale, with all 61 lots sold, as well as ten lots going under the hammer for over €1mn. Indicative of this healthy demand, the ‘tapuanu mask’ from Mortlock Islands (Micronesia, Pacific Islands) sold for €7.8mn, and the ‘Fang Ebony Head’ from Gabon Africa, achieved €6.5mn (appx US$6.8 mn).
Since this was a relatively recent sale, we managed to get some real numbers, but as of now we haven’t been able source a more detailed, comprehensive study about tribal arts around the world, and our assessment is largely based on the news we have been following.
As per this, the global scene in this niche and growing art space seems to be skewed to small controlled market spaces in Europe and the US, which dictate pricing, buyer outreach and availability of art. What is missing in this scenario are fairs and / or organized market spaces in the countries of origin with global market outreach. Australia is the only country where aboriginal art and crafts have found a strong domestic audience, but these also include contemporary aboriginal artists.
In India, one of the highest recorded auction prices for folk art is by Gond artist Jangarh Singh Shyam, at Rs 65 lakhs (approx. US$ 91,000) at a Pundole’s auction in February 2023. This was part of a modern art sale, and not an exclusive tribal / folk art auction.
While Saffronart has done some tribal and folk art sales, these are largely fragmented and not a regular feature. It is pretty much the same story with other auction houses as well, some pieces get featured in catalogues, but these are few and far between.
This in part could be in part due to the dated antiquities law, which makes any object deemed art from over 100 years, to be an antiquity - and some of the older and more in demand artworks and objects from tribal and folk traditions get included within its purview. We did a detailed article on how this is a disservice to the Indian art market last year.
Outside of the auction space, the curiosity and demand for artworks and objects from tribal and folk traditions continues to grow. Younger artists from within these communities are making their mark in the gallery space, with their own unique take on contemporary art within their traditional practices.
While the European market is vibrant and active, albeit with little representation from living traditional art works, it does show the heights quality works can achieve. Indian tribal traditions have had a smaller impact so far in the international arena, though having said that some of our most talented folk artists are shown in Paris and New York - think Pushpa Kumari or the Balu Mashe!
The expanding range and depth of artworks and artefacts for the Indian tribal market is quite staggering, especially since it can potentially cater to a wider price bracket and audience. The lack of organised and focussed efforts towards making this reality feels to be a missed opportunity at present, though we feel it will become inevitable as the interest within the country grows.
For this to become a reality, systematic efforts are required with respect to bringing artists to the market, making their works available as well as a transparent pricing mechanism, where new buyers feel comfortable investing.
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