How did you come to deal African art?
Jones: We both come from families whom have been in Africa for generations collecting artifacts. My family came as missionaries from the United States, spending the majority of this time in East and Central Africa.
Key: My time in Africa is quite different from Jones, as my family came to be the first to facilitate trade between Asia and the East African region. Much art was being discovered during this time, and with connections with those in power much was accessible and continues to be.
The general consensus is that there are no original and old pieces left in Africa. What do you think about this?
This is not true. Having lived in Africa for long we have connections to ex-colonial and expatriate families that have been living in Africa for generations buying African artifacts from a century ago.
This explains the provenance for our pieces. Unless coming from major collections in Europe, we usually do not mention by name as this is still an important source, though they are renown families in the East and Central African region. Perhaps in the future we will start adding the names of these families.
We also get pieces coming from missionary camps that are still located deep in the African bush – once in a while top quality pieces still come out and we are in a good position to acquire them.
Recognized dealers from Europe still come to Africa to buy what is available in this exclusive market – but we would rather not mention any specific names.
Your website also has information on the African Culture and on African tribes, why do you do this?
Besides collecting African art, we are very passionate about the African culture and the African tribes. Many are disappearing, and information on them is generally hard to come by. Being in East Africa and having many resources available to us, we feel it is our duty to contribute to the preservation of the African cultures. As we grow we will have more and more articles on African culture and tribes – so stay tuned! 
Feel free to ask any more questions on the comment section below and we’ll get right back to you.
2 Comments
Leave a Comment
Resources
I received this link in an email from an african art yahoo group, and normally never click links. This post-xmas morning for some instinctual reason I clicked and saw you. As a longterm collector I fell off my chair. You guys (I want to say You Boys!) bring a fresh shot of energy into this moribund collecting area. A few pointers right now, though possibly more later, as I digest what I witness here. Avoid following the format of other (failing) sites – just one of several instances I noticed – you sold a puppet and removed the price. You will trump the others (and more quickly gain our confidence) if you keep the price LISTED forever.
While you have the freshness and impact that the phenomenal Rand had when he first hit the scene, you can avoid staling by observing, even superficially, where the other sites flop … You will need the stamina of that dutch site to endure the next several years to endure the american economic roll!
You’ve done a mindboggling thing – don’t stop. Best regards.
Thank you so much for the thumbs up!
We’re still working on a few additions that will allow viewers to interact more with our site
We’ll keep your feedback in mind.