Lempertz and Artcurial to Auction Rotthier African and Oceanic Art Collection in Paris
The Facts
On August 19, 2026, Lempertz and Artcurial announced the joint auction of the African and Oceanic art from the Jean-Jacques Rotthier Collection. The first part will be presented at Artcurial in Paris on September 8, 2026, as part of Parcours des Mondes. Assembled since the 1970s, the collection comprises over 300 works, with the first tranche offering nearly 100 objects. Highlights include a group of four Songye figures, a Luba ceremonial sceptre, terracotta from Djenné-jeno, Nok culture works, and a rare Janus-headed Kuyu figure. Rotthier, a Belgian collector who lived in Mali and exchanged with experts Bernard de Grunne and Pierre Dartevelle, built the collection primarily in Belgium, focusing on artistic quality over speculation.
The Signal
The joint auction by two major European auction houses underscores the market significance of this private collection, which ranks among the most outstanding in African art. For collectors, the sale offers rare, museum-quality objects from a coherent, decades-long collecting practice, free of speculative influence. The inclusion of pieces from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and ancient cultures like Djenné-jeno and Nok provides thematic breadth. This auction signals sustained institutional and private demand for well-documented, connoisseur-led collections in the tribal art market.
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- People: Jean-Jacques Rotthier, Bernard de Grunne, Pierre Dartevelle, Frans Olbrechts, Aristide Courtois
- Auction Houses: Lempertz, Artcurial
- Locations: Paris
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