We are pleased to share with our numerous African art lovers the rich and diversified artistic culture expressed in African art.Growing up in Ghana, African art did not mean so much to me because the artifacts were part of our daily lives. The furniture, the ceramic pots, the owari game, and doors, etc., were all deemed as utilities yet there was meaning -- the symbolism about each piece was treasured. African art is about the people, it’s about their lives, it’s about their culture.
I started collecting and selling African art during my student days at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester New York, in the 1980’s. During the College’s Annual International Art and Food Fair, I presented a couple of masks and an Ashanti stool from Ghana for display. The pieces drew a lot of interest from students and some faculty members who asked me if I had some pieces for sale. From that day, I became a student and African art seller.
On each trip I made to Ghana during vacation break, I returned with some art pieces which I sold to students and faculty on campus. The art proceeds eventually helped pay for part of my tuition and other expenses.
I opened my first African art gallery in New York’s SOHO section in the late 1990’s. In June 2001, Dafco’s Art Gallery moved to its current location on Mamaroneck Avenue in White Plains, in Westchester County. In June 2011, Dafco’s Art Gallery will celebrate its 10th year in White Plains.
For the past 20 years I have been collecting African art through my travel to different African countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Cameroon, South Africa and other nations. Items featured in the gallery include ceremonial masks, equestrian guardian figures, ancestral power figures (Nkisi), divination vessels, royal stools, reliquary figures, royal shields, and other objects. All acquisitions are sought personally by my direct consultation with local/traditional chiefs and elders of the Bamilekes, the Luba royalties, the Pende peoples, the Toma local chiefs of Guinea, the Ekoi elders of Nigeria, and the Junda of the DRC. Other acquisitions are made through indigenous art dealers around the other countries. All our collections are authentic and were used for different functions in the communities with some from the 19th and 20th centuries.
Dafco’s Art Gallery of African Art has enjoyed the following media coverage since moving to White Plains 10 years ago:
- Westchester Home – Westchester Magazine – Winter 2011
- Westchester Magazine – September 2006
- The Journal News of Westchester Business of New York – March 29, 2006
- Westchester County Business Journal – May 9, 2005
- The New York Times – August 15, 2004
Whether you are a beginner, accumulator or an avid collector, we have some very unique and affordable pieces in stock for you – for your home, office and gifts.
It is our sincere hope that our numerous visitors will find this blog resourceful. We promise to provide you with very exciting and educational news about the African art pieces we carry in our gallery and also what is going on in the international market place of African art.
We thank you for visiting our blog and welcome suggestions that would help improve our services.
Sincerely,
Kwaku ( aka Joe Cobbinah )
