The Ethnic & Tribal Art Collection
A new area 'Ethnic Art' has been added to this website for you to view and buy some superb Ethnic Art & Crafts collected in the 1980s and 1990s for our personal enjoyment, and never intended for sale. All items were personally chosen at source for their aesthetic quality and intrinsic interest, as well as their authenticity and cultural significance. Please click on 'ETHNIC ART' in the Toolbar.
BACKGROUND TO THE COLLECTION: After early careers in art and education we thought it would be fun to start a fair-trade ethnic art and craft business to fund some world travel. Our first trip was to the Far East (Hong Kong, Bangkok and Bali) where we purchased a fascinating assortment of ethnic crafts rarely seen in the West in the 1980s…beautiful hand-woven textiles, demon masks, shadow puppets, bone carvings, batik paintings, silk embroidered pictures, carved wooden flowers, and etched palm-leaf books…and set up shop in Falmouth on our return. Our 'Morning Price Gallery’ proved extremely popular and successful, and before long we opened two more galleries in West Cornwall, and a little later started a fair-trade wholesale business ‘World Art & Crafts’ to supply gift shops and galleries throughout the UK and Europe.
The popularity and success of our fair trade business enabled us to make frequent buying trips (more than 40 to Bali alone), and we continued to travel around the world as professional specialist importers sourcing decorative and ethnic art and crafts for ourselves and for museums, galleries and private collectors for the next 25 years. Wherever we went we endeavoured to keep some of the very best of our finds for ourselves, and over the years we were able to amass a significant private collection of carvings, masks, textiles, and antique sacred, ceremonial and ritual artifacts.
In 2010 we sold our business, downsized our property and retired to the Cornish coast, where we have returned to our roots as practicing artists. We love our new environment and lifestyle, but unfortunately no longer have the space to accommodate our collection in its entirety, and part of it is now offered for sale here. This is a unique opportunity to purchase some truly wonderful antique singing bowls and examples of museum quality ethnic art and craft.
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