Guide
How to buy African art with confidence
Buying African art safely comes down to three questions: what kind of work it is (contemporary, modern or historical), whether its history can be documented, and whether it can legally leave the country it is in. Contemporary art bought from the artist, a gallery or a fair is straightforward; historical objects need documented provenance, and some cannot be legally exported at all.
Updated 3 min read
Know which market you are in
"African art" covers very different markets, with different risks:
| Category | Examples | Main risks |
|---|---|---|
| Contemporary | Living artists; works made recently | Overpaying; buying from an unauthorised seller |
| Modern | 20th-century modernists such as Ben Enwonwu or the Congolese popular painters | Fakes and misattributions, especially of famous names |
| Historical and "traditional" | Masks, figures, textiles and objects made for use, often decades or centuries old | Fakes made to look old; objects taken illegally; export bans |
| Photography | Studio photographers such as Seydou Keïta | Vintage prints versus later prints; unauthorised editions |
Most first-time buyers should start with contemporary art. It supports living artists directly, its history is simple, and the paperwork is easy.
Where to buy
- From the artist or their studio. Ideal when possible. Ask for a signed invoice.
- Galleries. A gallery that represents an artist can confirm authenticity and price history. Many galleries specialising in African art show at the fairs listed in our guide to African art fairs and biennales.
- Auction houses. Major houses hold regular sales of modern and contemporary African art. Read the catalogue's provenance and condition notes, and remember the buyer's premium and taxes on top of the hammer price.
- Online platforms and markets. Convenient, but the seller's reputation is everything. Pay through methods that offer protection.
Documents to ask for
For any significant purchase, ask for:
- An invoice naming the artist, title, date, medium, dimensions and price.
- A certificate of authenticity from the artist, their gallery or estate — useful, but only as reliable as whoever signs it.
- Provenance: the chain of owners, with dates. For historical objects this matters most of all; gaps around the colonial period or recent decades are a warning sign.
- Export documentation, if the work is leaving an African country.
- A condition report for older works.
How fakes work
- Famous modern names attract copies. The more a painter sells for, the more fakes appear. Be wary of "rediscovered" works at modest prices.
- "Tourist" or "airport" art is made for sale to visitors and is legitimate as what it is, but it is sometimes artificially aged and sold as old ritual objects.
- Signs of artificial ageing include uniform "patina", fresh breaks dirtied to look old, and wear in places hands would never touch.
- Photographs may be printed long after they were taken, or without authorisation. Ask when and by whom a print was made.
Export and import rules
Many African countries restrict the export of antiquities and cultural property; Nigeria, for example, requires authorisation from its National Commission for Museums and Monuments. The 1970 UNESCO Convention commits signatory states to fight illicit trade in cultural property. The International Council of Museums (ICOM) publishes "Red Lists" of categories of objects at risk of illegal trafficking, including for Africa. Some importing countries add their own controls: the United States, for example, has restricted the import of archaeological material from Mali since the 1990s under a bilateral agreement.
Materials matter too. Objects containing ivory or parts of other protected species fall under the CITES convention and national laws, and may be impossible to sell or move legally.
None of this applies to a painting bought from a living artist. All of it applies to an old mask.
A changing context
Since 2017 several European and American institutions have returned objects taken during the colonial period, including Benin Bronzes returned to Nigeria by Germany and the Smithsonian in 2022, and royal treasures returned to Benin by France in 2021. Expect more scrutiny of provenance, not less.
Related
Before buying, see the work in person: our guide to where to see African art lists museums on and off the continent. For artists to start with, browse our artist profiles or the African women artists guide.