Shipping
BIG POSTAGE DISCOUNTS - IF YOU BUY MORE THAN 1 ITEM
We do not charge for packing, and always try to estimate the minimum postage, but we send pieces 'recorded delivery' which usually means a signature is required by the buyer
We reserve the right to relist items not paid for within 7 days.
Tribal Pieces are packed carefully by us, and normally shipped by
'24 or 48 hour 'tracked' delivery' service in the UK, by our courier.
Normally we use, 'World Parcel Service tracked' (UPS) for International deliveries
We welcome requests from customers as to your specific
postal / customs requirements
Packages are normally insured during transit
and will need to be signed for
** If shipping rates are not displayed for your country,
please contact us before buying as shipping costs to you may be higher **
About Us
WELCOME TO
'AFRICAN TRIBAL COLLECTION'
(The eBay side of 'Fine Tribal Gallery')
Excellent quality Tribally used Art at sensible prices
YOUR BEST RESOURCE FOR AUTHENTIC 'USED' AFRICAN PIECES...
(MUCH OF THE PROFIT OF SALES GOES BACK TO HELP SUPPORT VILLAGES IN WEST AFRICA WE WORK WITH)
We are a predominently English team of tribal hunters based in the UK, with strong links to Ghana and much of West Africa. We have all, over the last few decades, been pasionate collectors of African antiquities, particularly tribally used ceremonial masks and figures. Steve & Michaela previously lived in West Africa for over 15 years, and have an extensive personal collection from their travels around Africa then. African Tribal Art has been plundered over the years and 'copies / fakes' are everywhere!!! - but there are still a lot of nice pieces about if you have the time to hunt through villages!
Many pieces, even in some villages have been made to be sold one day, but with experience you can weed out the obvious pieces and find the genuine tribally used pieces..
We have found that a huge amount of 'established' sellers and big tribal galleries have never even been to Africa! They rely on so called 'antiques' dealers in Africasending them pieces, or most buy pieces from smaller local auctions in Europe, flea markets and the like, and just reference such pieces to old magazines and books for prices & styles and assume they are 'genuine'.
We have pieces appraised by, and regularly go to many of the big auctions in Paris, at Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonham's etc, and visit friends at the well established Tribal Art galleries there. We have spent many years studying Tribal Art styles and visiting exhibitions and museums in Europe.
The 'style' and 'movement' of pieces is important to us, as is supplying quality art at 'sensible' prices. We sell to established collectors, and even other sellers in Europe and the USA to help fund our aid projects in West Africa.
'Provenance' is all fine and well, and although we do have established collectors offering us pieces to sell for our projects, there are still many gems to be found hidden away in Africa. The same piece we and others may offer for £5000 may be £25000 or £50000 in Paris or New York, because 'X' documented it in the 1940's!! Tribal Art is a growing area & big auction house prices are soaring, as you may have seen recently.
'Fine Tribal Gallery' is not a 'registered' charity. We are passionate about Africa and tribal Art and we are doing what we can to support various villages in Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, Liberia and elsewhere in West Africa. We are currently working with several 'registered' aid agencies in country, including 'SOS Childrens Villages, 'WaterAid' and with several NGO's such as 'Volunteer to Change' as well as many local Chiefs. We generate the funds they need for specific projects, from the sale of Tribal Art.
We are in Africa several times a year working on our aid projects, and of course hunting for new treasures from 'untapped' sources. Sometimes we go deep in the bush to remote villages - our passion is for rare tribally used artifacts with excellent 'style' and 'patina', not merely antiques.
Our sources for the tribal pieces we have for sale, stretch out across Africa from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Mali, etc down as far as the Congo...
We have a warehouse and shipping outlet situated in Ghana, where we initially store all the 'finds' from our hunting trips around West Africa. We then check and fumigate all the pieces ourselvesthere, and when they arrive in the UK - before we send to our world-wide customers.
Africa is rife with 'copies' and so we do not rely heavily on external sources to supply our pieces (as many sellers do!) as we would then not be able to reliably assure our buyers of the 'provenance' and 'authenticity' of our items. We choose all the pieces ourselves, and do our best to verify the 'age' and 'use' of pieces we find, and we regularly test pieces to verify authenticity.
We have local experts in West Africa who help us to assess pieces we find, regarding age and authenticity, utilising their knowledge of the wood used and the carving styles of the relevant tribes. We regularly send many tribal pieces for 'spectroscopy' age dating tests, at the Museum of Arts and Science in Milan. This can not only date the wood accurately, but can also ascertain if the piece was recently carved from an old piece of wood!
We don't just believe everything we are told by villagers and chiefs...
This is how we often test pieces - 'Spectroscopy' via the Museum of Art & Science (Italy & Germany) - It confirms type of wood, and age of carving
Please note that we do not always take pictures in a professional studio environment - we often take pictures in or just outside the villages in Africa, often with the owner or a village dancer. Normally, it is even exactly where we find the items... (Quite often this is behind a hut, in a tree, or in a clearing in the village, sometimes we just use a white or black sheet hung from a tree). We do not polish or 'clean' the items, so our customers receive them as they were found by us. This, we believe, is part of the authentic African experience we try to offer.
Thanks for looking. Steve, Michaela, Sharon & Petro.
We always welcome questions, please email us via eBay
