African Mask Fetches $7.5M

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed)
Jun 21st 2006 at 3:03PM

At a Paris auction of primitive art, a "Fang 'ngil" African mask sold for $7.5 million - triple its presale estimate. It was the highest selling lot of the auction, which involved more than 500 items, and set an individual price record, though the sale raised about $54 million total, which was a record high itself.

Experts judged that the mask, which originated in Western Africa, dated to the 19th century. It was housed in the privated collection of Pierre and Claude Verite for most of the 20th century, out of the public view. The most remarkable thing about the mask is the impact that it has had on modern art. Painters like Picasso, Matisse and Andre Breton were said to have been deeply inspired by it.

Tags: african, art, auction, mask, paris, primitive, record

Filed under: Auctions

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che george kebeh Jul 13th 2006 4:18AM

African arts have started gaining grounds in the World of arts. This is potrayed by the price of the Fang Ngil mask. Its all left to the Africans to stand up and defend our culture by attaching a lot of importance to this culture that is fast dieing. Bravo to the fang mask for making us proud