Fang sculpture stands taller than ever

Emma Crichton-Miller | Apollo | 20th August 2026

At first glance, this is a straightforward report on the market for African sculptures and masks. The huge prices indicate the immense aesthetic appeal of what one writer calls “masterpieces of premodern global art”. From there it gets complicated. Recent scholarship suggests Picasso, on first seeing these works in 1907, engaged in direct copying rather than painterly interpretation. And, as to how such objects can be shown in western museums, (assuming bulletproof provenance) that is still a matter of considerable debate,