My highlights of Parcours des Mondes for this year: the Hemba ancestor figure at Arte Y Ritual – and their duck head with lock (two keys included) / Fon fetisch from Jacques Kerchache, the Cameroon show at Bernard Dulon, Chinese glass hairpins at Maine Durieu, the incredible ensemble of Yupik masks at Donald Ellis, the Boyo (Luba?) figure chez Yann Ferrandin, Bruce Frank’s collection of miniature sculptures from the Sepik River region, the Hampatong figure in the basement of Valluet, the group of Kulango bronze figures at David Serra, Emmanuel Ameloot’s collection of hats and hairpins at Galerie SL (with an extra compliment for the presentation) and the breathtaking Kerewa skull hook from Voyageurs & Curieux. Of course, there was much more to see, but these managed to jump out above the unsurpassed scope of offerings. Not suprising, Sotheby’s preview of the Allan Stone collection and their December sale proved hard to surpass by any of the participants. Personally, I was happy to be involved in the reunion of the male Urhobo figure from Bernard de Grunne with its female counterpart in a private US collection, had a great time signing my book at Librairie Fischbacher, visited a splendid private collection of ere ibeji and enjoyed sipping coffee at the zinc of Bistro Mazarine sharing thoughts with fellow visitors. All in all, it was again a wonderful edition, the congregation of so many passionate collectors, dealers and ‘amateurs’ in the lovely surroundings of Saint-Germain-des-Prés for me stays the ‘tribal’ art event of the year.
