Future Perfect

African Masterpieces from the Liliane and Michel Durand‐Dessert Collection

Auction at CHRISTIE's Paris: 27 JUNE 2018

On 27 June 2018 Christie's will present for auction the African art collection of Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert - one of the rarest ensembles of African art still in private hands.

Assembled over the course of three decades, the 105 lots on offer will reveal the private passion and exquisite avant-garde taste that distinguish Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert, pioneering gallerists of contemporary art who have been guided by their unwavering intellectual curiosity to the traditional arts of Africa.

This extraordinarily diverse collection offers a wide range of masterpieces from the main artistic centers of the west coast and the Congo, often integrating notions of the passage of time and rites. Highlights include a female Mbembe statue from Nigeria, a rare Bassa figure from Liberia, and an exceptional Fang statue from Gabon that once belonged to the famous Parisian art dealer Paul Guillaume.