FIG. 5: Doorlock fragment. Senufo, Mali. Wood. H: 30 cm. Photo: Alex Arthur. FIG. 6: Detail of a paddle. Solomon Islands. Wood, pigment. H: 153 cm. Photo: Alex Arthur. 122 somber ones. No “Louis XV Baule” for us, by which I mean overly elaborate, with a thousand tresses and scarification marks. Our approach is aesthetic and not ethnographic. We understand the people who are interested in the significance of these objects to the people who made them, the traditions they represent, and their ritual uses, but we don’t really delve systematically into this kind of research. That is not to say that we don’t document our objects—we buy and read many books—but our approach is not so much to obtain extensive documentation before a purchase as to conduct an “enquiry of curiosity” afterward. T. A. M.: Looking at the kinds of pieces you have taken interest in—a Madagascar Sakalava bird and an extremely weathered Cameroonian Batoufam statue, for example—it would seem that you have a certain sensibility for weathered wood and other materials. Natacha Lequesne: Ah! That’s mainly me. I push us to acquire these kinds of works! T. A. M.: So the collection is built with two voices. Are you a collecting couple or two collectors who are married? M. L.: We have been married for twenty-five years. My wife got the bug after about ten. N. L.: Yes, I had a bit of trouble with the African aesthetic at first. It seemed hard to me, a bit oppressive. But then, as I explored galleries and museums, my eye became more receptive and I began to participate in this adventure. Once I realized that I could share my husband’s passion, I allowed myself to become involved. M. L.: And now Natacha acquires pieces on her own! N. L.: And no less captivating ones! T. A. M.: So the answer is two collectors who are married? N. L.: That’s one way of seeing it. After a day at the Parcours des Mondes, we’ve sometimes each come home with our “own” object. But most often we encourage each other. One of us supports the other in the idea that an acquisition is worth making even if in certain cases it does not exactly correspond to his or her taste. And we give each other presents—generally pieces that we’ve seen together but for one reason or another did not purchase right away. An example would be this beautiful Senufo lock. It spoke to me FIG. 7: Reliquary guardian figure. Mahongwe, Gabon. Wood, metal. H: 24 cm. Photo: Alex Arthur. FIG. 8: Figure. Batoufam, Cameroon. Wood. H: 83 cm. Photo: Alex Arthur. TRIBAL people
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