Testimony of a collector who bought a sculpture by Henry Munyaradzi which turned out to be a fake
Here is the testimony of a collector who bought a sculpture by Henry Munyaradzi which turned out to be a fake. I live in Paris and I have been collecting Shona sculptures from Zimbabwe for about fifteen years. I write this article, not to settle accounts, nor to denounce anyone, nor to obtain something, but to alert collectors and encourage them to be vigilant. In November 2008, I bought a sculpture from an American gallery: ****** Gallery. The purchase was made by internet on photos. It is a piece signed Henry Munyaradzi, a first generation artist, recognized and exhibited all over the world. The title is "Protecting owl", carved in black serpentine, signed "Henry" under the base, 52 cm high, 25 cm wide, sold for $900 and comes with a certificate of authenticity. I received my owl and I lived happily with it until September 2022 when I read several articles on the internet which are concerned about the proliferation on the market of fake sculptures from Zimbabwe re...