This stunning collection of African art provides an insightful view of the people and cultures involved in the African art trade. African 'runners' appeared on the Western art scene shortly after the 1967-1970 Biafran Civil War when they began exporting artefacts to Europe and America. These native-born dealers, who procure art in Africa through family or business connections, are the molar sources to overseas customers of old tribal art, the supply of which is rapidly dwindling. This book features an eclectic collection of more than nine hundred never-before-published photographs of African art and describes the methods of the runners who brought these objects to America. A collector with hands-on knowledge of the African art trade, John R. Rohner presents African art from a fresh angle, offering a fascinating portrait of cultural contrast as he defines the differences between African and Western art dealers and details his own experiences with runners.
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Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
A unique aspect of the trade in African artifacts is the "runner," Africans who acquire objects by various means in Africa and then visit Europe and America to seek out collectors. A thorough study of their role in the development of African art collections would be a valuable contribution to art history. Unfortunately, this is not such a book, as the text primarily consists of colorful tales and reminiscences by the author of runners he has met or heard about as a collector. The bulk of the volume consists of a catalog of hundreds of objects acquired from runners, which can function as a visual survey of African sculpture. However, it is not clear in what way these objects are reflective of the runners from whom they were purchased. Nevertheless, as a collector's memoir that addresses a rarely discussed aspect of collecting and as an extensive catalog of objects, this book can be recommended for library collections with strong interests in African art.
-Eugene C. Burt, Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
-Eugene C. Burt, Seattle
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
John R Rohner
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