68
Master that he ultimately ceded to the author
of these lines and which now is in the Malcolm
Collection, a large Bangwa seated fi gure now in
a private collection, and the large Cameroonian
Batcham mask that is now at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art.* These three works had entered
into Pierre’s collection early on and were included
in the Brussels exhibition in 1977. The large
Akwanshi stone sculpture from Nigeria now in
the Pavillon des Sessions at the Louvre is also
noteworthy in this context.
Several collectors and museums have long
since let Pierre know that they would be pleased
and more than willing to have the opportunity
to acquire a number of the pieces in his collection.
Indeed, connoisseurs and afi cionados are
well aware that this collection is remarkable for
its uniformly impressive level of quality. From
the smallest bronze or ivory trinket or amulet to
the most spectacular and monumental effi gies,
the works in it were selected by a keenly honed
and extremely sensitive eye.
Diversity is also a hallmark of this collection.
Representative artworks from regions other
than Central Africa illustrate the work of artistic
geniuses across the continent. Nonetheless, the
FIG. 18 (left):
Mask. Suku, DR Congo.
Wood, vegetal fi ber, pigments.
H: 95 cm.
FIG. 19 (right): Pierre
Dartevelle and Jacques
Chirac considering objects
for the exhibition Carnets de
voyage, 2009.
This exhibition was curated by Bernard
Dulon and Laurent Jacob. Objects
from fi gures 14 and 15 can be seen in
this image.
FIG. 20 (below): Pierre
Dartevelle’s sitting room.
Brussels, 2016.
© Valérie Dartevelle.