- buying -
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Charles-Wesley Hourdé is always looking to acquire new authentic artworks. No matter if they come from Africa, Oceania, America, even if they are books, photographs or documents, feel free to contact him.
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- selling -
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To discover available artworks, please visit our showroom on 31 rue de Seine, Paris or directly contact Charles-Wesley Hourdé and let him know what you are looking for.
- expertise -
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Charles-Wesley Hourdé offers to help you identify your artworks. His experience and his personal specialized library will allow you to learn more about their origin, their symbolic and their use. A more complete service, tracing the complete historic background is offered below under the “research” category.
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- valuing -
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Estimating an artworks can be necessary for various purposes: estates, acquisitions, informative valuation, sale valuation, insurance valuation, or simple curiosity.
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Strengthen by his experience in both public auctions and private sales, Charles-Wesley Hourdé offers his valuation services. Free of charge for an opinion from a picture or by quote for a valuation requiring travel and research, he will provide you with all his skills.
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- advising -
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Charles-Wesley Hourdé can provide you with his personal advising service. Whether you are an individual, a company, a professional (designer, architect, etc.) or an institution, collecting African and Oceanic artifacts is an art that cannot be improvised. Our advises cover the following situations:
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Negotiating and acquiring an artwork from a professional or an individual
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Acquiring an artwork from an auction house
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Building and managing your collection depending on your profile
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Selling your artworks in the best conditions (private sale or public auction)
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Placing your artworks within cultural events (forthcoming exhibition or publication for instance)
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Networking with professionals (basemaker, restorer, etc.)
- searching -
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Charles-Wesley Hourdé can provide you with complete and exhaustive dossiers about your artworks. From their geographical and cultural contexts to their historic pedigrees (provenances, exhibitions, publications, etc.), your artworks will have no more secrets for you. Please contact him for more information.
Whether you are searching to acquire artworks following your passion or for investment reasons, the arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas represent a domain full of opportunity.
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Rare are the collecting fields still allowing the acquisition of museum-quality masterpieces. Historic works with prestigious pedigree, unknown pieces and iconic sculptures still populate private collections. Heddle pulleys, Dan or Senufo masks from Ivory Coast, Fang or Kota reliquary figures from Gabon, clubs and figures from Fiji, marine ivory ornaments from the Marquesas Islands, Kanak figures, or British Colombia masks, the range of possibilities is breathtaking.
As for investment, these sculptures can represent an attractive investment. But it is necessary to be able to differentiate and select them. The dichotomy reflected by public auctions on medium and long term is an excellent indicator. While the value of high quality objects continues to rise, the value of medium and low quality pieces is stable, or even decreases. This Manichean scheme may, however, be qualified by the existence of “fashions” or “trends”, that one can take advantage of. Unless having a deep knowledge of this market, it is highly recommended to have recourse to professional advices, especially because many well-carved copies circulate.
Counting on his experience and on his network of collectors, professionals and institutions that he has cultivated since more than 15 years, Charles-Wesley Hourdé is at your disposal in order to guide you for any punctual acquisition but also for the long-term management of your collection. Feel free to contact him in order to organize a first informal appointment.
Concerned about privacy, we will only share pictures of available artworks on request.