Jean-Pierre Schmidt

The collection of African art assembled by Jean-Pierre Schmidt is mainly focused on West Africa, the region where the latter resided for several years.

His long stays made him aware of the traditional rites of Mali, of Ivory Coast in particular. They also offered him the opportunity to get off the beaten track to discover in depth more authentic areas within which he was able to acquire some of his generally very good quality pieces. Others are of more sentimental interest.

Returning from Africa, Jean-Pierre Schmidt continued his collection and qualitative sorting effort by acquiring objects sometimes in galleries, sometimes in sales rooms, or from other collectors, this time with a broader interest in the primitive arts of islands of the Pacific Ocean.