Primal art has been hugely influential on some of the greatest artists of the 20th century, including Picasso and Matisse. Despite this formidable reputation, it has lurked largely in the shadows in this country. That, however, is about to change.

The French call primal art les arts premiers, the first art, because it represents the earliest type of artistic endeavour and one that still exists throughout Africa and Australia. And now Clive Loveless, a London-based expert and dealer in the field, is holding a selling exhibition of primal art. The exhibition is entitled Abstract Tribal Artefacts from Africa to Oceania and will be held at Gallery No 5, Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, London from June 6 to 16.

Mr Loveless says: “Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, which has two figures inspired by African masks, is probably the best-known example of the influence of primal art and the painting marked a turning point in how the West looked at this early art form.

“While the French retained their fascination with it, interest tailed off in the UK about 30 years ago, when rising property prices encouraged many dealers to cash in and sell their galleries. Interest revived when interior designers began to decorate minimalist homes with primal art, and now the serious collectors are returning, too.”

The term primal art covers myriad objects, from the Australian boomerang to African spears, shields, masks and even baskets. The Tutsi in Rwanda are renowned basket-makers, weaving them into sculptured shapes, which are presented as gifts or displayed as a sign of prestige.

Although the top end of the market can fetch eyewatering prices – a recent primal art sale at Sotheby’s in New York raised more than $10 million – the pieces in the forthcoming exhibition start mainly in the high hundreds and move into the low thousands.

Mr Loveless has a collection of five rare pre1935 Tutsi baskets, at £3,000; an impressive club made by the little-known Ingessana tribe of Sudan, at £2,500; and two small Tutsi dancing shields, at £1,500 each. The most expensive piece in next month’s exhibition is a fragment of a Peruvian cloak, which has been carbon dated at more than 2,000 years old. The price is £15,000.

One of the great charms of collecting primal art is that it also serves as a reminder of what the West has lost. For example, many societies have initiation ceremonies, of a type we no longer have, to mark the passing from boyhood to manhood. These ceremonies often take place in special initiation houses and Mr Loveless has an early 20th-century sago spathe bark painting from one such house in Papua New Guinea. The painting is priced at £2,000.

Clive Loveless: 020-8969 5831

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