Collector’s guide

Collecting Central African art is a legitimate passion that also carries responsibility: toward objects, toward the cultures that produced them, toward the law.

1. Asking the right questions

• Where does the object come from, and through whose hands has it passed?
• Are there documents: invoices, labels, catalogues, old photographs?
• When and how did the object leave its country of origin?
• Who owned it, and with what legitimacy?

2. Understanding the legal framework

Several texts govern the circulation of cultural property, including the 1970 UNESCO Convention and, for stolen or illicitly exported goods, the 1995 UNIDROIT Convention. Their application depends on ratification by the states concerned and the date of the facts. Cameroonian, Spanish, French and Belgian legislation each regulate the circulation of cultural property; they overlap without being identical.

3. Document, always

Keep invoices, certificates, correspondence, photographs and reports. Good documentation protects the buyer, eases insurance and supports transmission. See provenance research.

4. Restitutions and the ethical debate

The subject of restitution of African cultural objects has become central in Europe. A collector can reflect on it before acquiring: some objects are more sensitive than others — sacred objects, regalia, human remains. The practice does not take sides in proceedings but illuminates the issues. The practice clarifies the issues and leaves it to the parties and their advisers to decide.

5. A few simple reflexes

• Be wary of an offer that is “too good”, a very low price, a total absence of documents.
• Have the object examined before purchase by an expert independent of the seller.
• Require a detailed invoice and a precise description.
• Keep the object in good conditions. See preventive conservation.