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Art connoisseurs
and lovers came together on Saturday, April 24, 2010 to witness what
proved to be one of the best auctions in Nigeria in recent times, as
the last hammer came down to a cumulative sale of approximately N35m
worth of artworks. Aptly tagged the Golden Jubilee Auction 2010, the
event which held inside the Multipurpose Hall of Terra Kulture,
Victoria Island, Lagos was organised by Terra Kulture in partnership
with Nimbus 2000, and with the support of Guaranty Trust Bank.

The event which
once again confirmed the increasing market value of contemporary
Nigerian art, showcased works by celebrated Nigerian artists such as
the late Ben Osawe, Bruce Onobrakpeya, El-Anatsui, Jimoh Buraimoh,
Abayomi Barber and his son Olatunde Barber; and entries by legendary
Nigerian musician Sir Victor Uwaifo who according to the auctioneers
majored in Sculpture at the University of Benin.

Though beginning
slowly as the bidders and the auctioneers felt each other out, the
tempo of the event quickly heightened as the collectors sought to
outbid each other. Two pieces by El-Anatsui, a multimedia artist and
teacher at University of Nigeria, Nsukka, came tops at the auction as
his wood panel, Lot 72, ‘Time Window’ (147 x 61 cm, 2006) sold at
N3.8m; while Lot 61, from a series, ‘1004 Flat’ (40 x 40 cm) went for
N3.6m. And with these, the prolific artist made his first major sale in
Nigeria.

Other sales in the
top six were Ben Osawe’s bronze, ‘Queen’ (96 inch. 1991) at N2.1m; Gani
Odutokun’s ‘King’, NI.5m; Abayomi Barber’s ‘Knowledge is Power’
(bronze, 150 cm x 79 cm), N1.2m; and Jimoh Buraimoh’s Beaded work
(152cm x 76cm), N900, 000.

A wide range

The collection of
works presented at the auction was indeed a cocktail of artworks
collated to celebrate Nigeria’s Golden Jubilee while reminiscing on the
mythical and folkloric history of the nation with the presentation of
Lot 56, the Benin Warrior Head (A Goat Head Cap); Lot 59, Ajere 4, a
depiction of mother and children; Lot 60, Ekpoki (Jewellery Box) 1; Lot
53, The Portuguese Warrior Horse Rider; and Lot 57, Ife Head.

Managing Director
of Terra Kulture, Bolanle Austen-Peters, had earlier said that they
collected, sculptures, artefacts and other media of art expression,
just to ensure the event was not monotonic. This potpourri of works
gave an insight into the creative transformation of arts in Nigeria
over the last 50 years and more.

With a fine mix of
Nigerian and foreign collectors, the summation of the sales of over 70
percent of the works sold at prices which sometimes surpassed their
recommended retail price, once again confirmed the growing appreciation
that Nigerian art is worth collecting.

Some observations

This was the second
arts auction from the stables of Terra Kulture, and the level of
organisation which went into the preparation for the event from its
announcement some months ago, demonstrated that the lessons from the
maiden edition of the event were taken to heart.

The initial
concerns that works presented were not in accordance with the brochure
was allayed, as bidders received documents which showed them the
direction in which the works would be auctioned off. Moreover, caddy
boys carried the pieces as they were announced by the auctioneers,
while the use of a projector also left no doubt in the minds of the
bidders as to the pieces up for auction.

The one fly in the
ointment of the event was the salesmanship of one the auctioneers which
many faulted, due to her lack of composure, evidently caused by her
lack of proper knowledge of the works. However, the flawless manner in
which her partner, Seye Ogunlesi, wooed the bidders with his knowledge
of the works and the artists and his sense of salesmanship, more than
made up for her lapse. Despite the success of the event, this scenario
highlights the fact that there is a dearth of art auctioneers in
Nigeria and the dire need for the Nigerian art industry to encourage
more people with a flair for salesmanship to delve into this aspect of
the industry, as the business of art auctions seems to have berthed in
the country.

With the level of
success realised from this year’s auction and the challenges faced in
organising it, it will be expected that subsequent auctions by Terra
Kulture would draw lessons from this event and in subsequent auctions
continually open up a secondary market in the arts industry, thus
shooting up the price of art materials, Nigerian artworks, artefacts
and antiquities.

Darlington Abuda wrote in reaction to ‘Far From Golden’, published in NEXT on Wednesday, April 28, 2010.