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All of our items are clearly
authentic.
However, as for almost all
wooden African artifacts, the true age is
very difficult to establish, if you ignore
the exaggerated stories which villagers or
sellers always tell you in Europe or in
Africa.
Actually, contrary to the
popular claims by some unscrupulous dealers,
there are no scientific methods available to
date a wooden object produced within the
modern history.
All items we display are
collected by us in Zambia, we carefully
scout the countryside for good pieces.
All were chosen for their
stylistic purity, artistic value, and signs
of age and use.
After many years of
collecting and seeing thousands of items one
develops a good feel for age and
authenticity - these are the best and often
only guides for the collectors and museum
curators.
Some signs of age to watch
are: patination, age cracks, darkening of
wood, oily deposits on the parts contacting
the body, oxidation of materials.
Raffia does not last long in
African climate, so many old masks have new
raffia attached to them.
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