[MSN] Minneapolis Institute of Arts buys million dollar African sculpture (Provenance?)

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Minneapolis Institute of Arts buys million dollar African sculpture
By Mary Abbe, Star Tribune

Last update: May 07, 2007 - 7:57 PM

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has bought a top-of-the-line bronze
African sculpture for an undisclosed price in excess of $1 million. 
The 400-year-old portrait-head of a king, made in what is now southern
Nigeria, came from a Paris dealer who offered it to the Minneapolis museum,
which has been seeking great objects for its already renowned collection of
African art.

"It's a very exciting acquisition," said William Griswold, the museum's
director. He declined to say how much the museum paid but said it was "in
excess of seven figures." 

Benin bronzes, as they are known, are rare and considered a high point in
pre-colonial African culture. By unusual coincidence, another Benin bronze
head from the same era will be up for auction at Sotheby's in New York on
May 17 and is expected to sell for between $1 million and $1.5 million. 

The 12-inch head, which joins three other Benin pieces owned by the museum,
was probably made between 1600 and 1650 and depicts an unidentified king, or
Oba, wearing a necklace of coral beads.

The institute recently built a $50 million addition primarily to expand its
20th century collection, and it continues to buy art across the board
including contemporary prints, photos and paintings. 

Given the extraordinary cost of 20th-century art, the museum expects it will
have to rely on gifts for many of its acquisitions in that field. 

"There are many more works by [contemporary sculptor] Jeff Koons out there
than there are Benin heads," Griswold said.

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