Modernism, has a long ( often problematic) relationship with Western Modernism: from Picasso’s memory of the shivers he felt when he first visited the African exhibits at the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro in Paris, African sculpture particularly, with its paired down, minimalist aesthetic has beguiled the Western designer and artist.
This Midcentury African carved sculpture of an elephant, it’s pared down form, captures the fascination, and influence, of African arts on western art and design.
The flow of African artifects of this type increased as Africa became open to tourism from the West. ‘Tourist art’ from Africa - in its multitude of styles - is highly collectible.
The sculpture is hand carved from semi-precious Verdite stone. Which goes through many stages of sanding and polishing to arrive at this tactile smooth surface. A beautiful object
