You are interested in buying some African tribal art. But you are confused about what to buy and how to buy, right?



Well, this is a common problem faced by most of the admirers of African tribal art. African art is hugely diverse and establishing the authenticity of an art piece can get really confusing at times because each tribe residing across the continent of Africa has its own unique art form. In short, the tribal artwork of Africa is as varied as the diverse tribal communities in the continent.

To buy some of this beautiful artwork, you can visit some reputed online art gallery or dealers. Here are some tips that will help you out in selecting and buying quality African tribal art pieces.

1. Plan your Budget:

First decide on how much you can afford to spend on an African tribal art piece. This would help you to search for something interesting within your expected budget.

If the budget is not planned beforehand, you might end up paying more for an art piece than you can actually planned for. If your budget for art is somewhat limited, you can think of buying some excellent reproductions of traditional art. But still, an original piece is something that you would really be proud of.

2. Decide what you want to buy

African tribal arts come in diverse forms such as original oil paintings, masks, jewellery, pottery and sculptures figure. All these pieces are beautiful and have their own features and inherent meaning that have their roots in the age old cultural and religious traditions of Africa.

Before searching for an art piece, be specific on what you exactly want for your art collection or for your home or office.

3. Give importance to home decor

If you are buying an African tribal art piece or an original oil painting for your home, make sure to select an art piece that gels with your home décor. Suppose you bought a tribal mask and the room where you want to hang it is decorated in French county style, then the mask would look out of place.

Also decide on the size factor of the art pieces as they come in a wide variety of sizes. If a large piece is not what you want, you can always choose a small, stand-alone piece of art.

4. Find an art expert

You might have an eye to judge the beauty of an art piece but to be on the safer side, it is advisable to take help from some knowledgeable person who knows African tribal art inside out.

Or you can do some research on your own by visiting some reputed online art galleries, art museums and art dealers who deal in authentic African tribal art pieces. Take the help of experts who can negotiate on your behalf. But before hiring such experts, enquire about their commissions. This way you would get an original piece at a good price.

5. Check the origin of the art work

You can easily find many dealers who only deal with original, authentic African tribal artwork, but there are also many online shops where you can purchase recreated pieces at affordable prices.

So, when you find a good piece, you must enquire about it's origin. Suppose you are interested in buying an African mask, then ask the dealer to tell you something about its religious significance and how it originated. This type of knowledge about the artwork would help you understand it's real meaning.