PARIS — Over 600 objects of African art from a private collection were sold in Paris this weekend during a two-day auction billed by art experts as the most important sale of African art in 35 years.
The total proceedings from the sale came to $10.3 million, organizers said after the sale ended Sunday. A breakdown of prices for individual objects will be available Monday.
The collection belonged to the late French art connoisseur Hubert Goldet, who spent 30 years tracking down African masks, statues, furniture and jewelry at auctions and galleries.
The auction is the most important public sale of African art since the New York auction of the Helena Rubenstein collection in 1966, auctioneer Francois de Ricqles said in a statement.
“During a lifelong quest, Hubert Goldet assembled one of the world’s finest collections of tribal art. Those who had the privilege of visiting his Parisian home will always remember the moving experience of viewing his 640 objects, unparalleled in quality and diversity,” the statement said.
Highlights of the auction included a Mbete carving estimated at $775,000 to $1 million, as well as some 20 rare Dogon, Punu, Kota, Fang, and Baule sculptures, which had been expected to fetch $130,000 to $258,000.
Other African artifacts on sale included bronze and ivory bracelets, loom pulleys, tables and powder flasks.
Born in 1945 to a wealthy family in Paris, Goldet was educated at the Ecole du Louvre and spent three years at Sotheby’s auction house in London before returning to France and founding Art Press, a contemporary art magazine.
He started collecting African art pieces in 1971. Goldet died in March last year, aged 55.
