Page 142

ïTribalPaginaIntera_layout

140 opportunity to sort through 450 of these weapons, my opinion changed. When the museum backed out of purchasing the weapons, I decided to obtain them for my own collection. To answer your query as to how I became an “expert,” I have to say that I’m a passionate enthusiast in the field of tribal art and though I know a lot about what I collect, I’m constantly studying and researching because I realize there’s so much that I don’t know. Access to a good book collection can help, but that doesn’t automatically make a person an expert. I’ve made a few mistakes and learned from them. Sometimes important information can be found in the strangest places. Just recently a college student wrote a term paper after visiting my collection and mentioned a cabinet of curiosities located in a small museum in Connecticut that I’d never heard of. Thanks to that student, I now have a new place to check out. TAM: The “hunt” is clearly something you enjoy. What would you consider to be your best find over the years? CD: Each object I encounter and buy is initially my best find and every acquisition gives me an opportunity to discover new information. A few years ago I bought a beaded horn at a Boston auction. No one there, including me, knew what it was. I bought it anyway because it had a magical quality that I couldn’t resist. Several months later, I came across a photo of a similar one in a catalog from a French museum and found that it was from Madagascar. So for me the hunt sometimes begins after the purchase—the search for new knowledge is just as thrilling as the acquisition itself. TAM: In your book, Inspired by Dreams, you allude to your Native American ancestry and spiritual connections with these arts. Are these ever-present criteria for you today? CD: My affinity for spiritual connections is rooted in my close relationship with my Native American grandmother. She was a second mother to me and lived with my family during my childhood. I was an impressionable child, so when she described her prophetic dreams to me, they made an indelible impact. I’ve also had numerous dreams of this type, some of which have helped me in my collecting tribal art. Another important association for me is the I Ching TRIBAL people Fig. 12 (Left): Mask. Duala, Cameroon. From a Northampton, MA, estate. A general antique appraiser was in the process of cataloging an estate when she noticed two African masks in a pile of things destined to be sold at a tag sale. She asked the owners if she could show them to me, as she suspected that they were valuable. One of these was a Duala blackand white horned mask similar to one at the Rotterdam Museum. The other was unknown to me but had a very similar patina to its mate. I expressed an interest in buying them, but the family decided to keep them. Years later, I received a call from a woman who had inherited the masks and was ready to sell them. I was particularly pleased to acquire the abstract mask pictured here because I believe it to be very old and possibly unique. If anyone is aware of another one like it, I’d love to know about it. FIG. 9 (above): Fly whisk. Kongo, DR Congo. Ex Hurst Gallery, Boston. FIG. 10 (right): Staff. Songo, Angola. Ex Philip Budrose. I first saw this staff at the Brimfield Flea Market. Some Florida dealers had brought it along with a trunk full of early African textiles from Angola. I wanted only the staff, but they wouldn’t sell it separately. A few months later, it showed up at an auction, but I wasn’t able to get the winning bid and the staff slipped through my hands a second time. Several years later I saw it in Philip Budrose’s collection. I vowed I wasn’t going to let it get away again and, after Philip died, I was able to finally purchase it from his family. Fig. 11 (far right): Female figure. Sherbro, Liberia. Ex Julius Carlebach Gallery, New York.


ïTribalPaginaIntera_layout
To see the actual publication please follow the link above