Since 2009, ARTKHADE has been the reference database for the market of ancient arts from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas.
In 2015, its published a first report on tribal art sales.
Its 2024 report covers the previous year and concludes that the tribal art market has plummeted in 2023, with a global auction turnover of €37.55 million, marking a 37.5% decline, compared with the year 2022.
Despite an increase in the number of lots offered for sale last year, from 6,690 in 2022 to 7,085 in 2023 — a 6% rise — it’s paradoxical given that the overarching strategy of auction houses in recent years has been to limit the number of lots presented at auctions…
Notably, high-value bids have dwindled: only three African lots exceeded one million euros, with the top Oceanian one barely reaching €350,000.
Consequently, the average price has collapsed, from €13,750 in 2022 to €7,975 in 2023, a 42.1% drop in value. The report covers the sale of ten major auction houses, with Christie’s in the lead (31% market share) and Sotheby’s second (27%).
[RM* comment: The report does not cover other auction houses, nor art dealers. Thus, the sale of a Fang mask for over 5 million euro is not in the list (RM* 28.12.2023) or sales at Maison Drouot in Paris are not included. Yet, it is worth reading as an indication of the thinking and mood in auction circles.]
