PARIS.- Closing a busy month for African Contemporary Art, with the fairs 1:54 in London and AKAA in Paris, collectors gathered at PIASA on November 17 for an auction devoted to the African art scene.

This second ‘Origins & Trajectories’ sale ran to 86 lots and enjoyed great success, with a top price of €86,000 for a 1994 Untitled by the Egyptian artist Ghada Amer, whose woven works reproduce erotic scenes that treat the delicately intimate subjects of love and pleasure (lot 81).

Benin’s Romuald Hazoumè, another big name in this market, also aroused great interest. His hallmark masks were recently shown in the exhibition Picasso Mania at the Grand Palais in Paris. The mask offered at PIASA, entitled Azonto, fetched €18,950. It offers a new take on the traditional African mask, using recovered items like plastic, fabric and fibre (lot 19).

Another auction highlight was Peinture by Moroccan artiste Mahi Binebine, in wax and pigment on wood, portraying two mysterious figures locked in combat in a scene evoking a joust or a dance suspended in the void. It soared to €41,200, setting a record price for the artist in France (lot 55, est. €30,000-40,000).

There were also strong results for works by Aboudia, led by the painting Colorful Children at €18,950 (lot 38); a world record price of €12,880 for Dominique Zinkpé (lot 28); and a double-estimate €28,340 for an oil on canvas by Mahjoub Ben Bella (lot 71).

PIASA is one of France’s most distinguished auction houses. Its third sale of Contemporary African Art, “Origins and Trajectories” on November 17 in Paris, featured the work of 50 African artists.

PIASA’s ambition to own part of this increasingly valuable market is well within reach, says Christophe Person, who heads the Contemporary African Art department at PIASA in the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. A financier turned art specialist, Christophe has the ability to match big figures and powerful images.

Person comments: “African art is taking a long overdue turn in the spotlight of world interest. There is a growing understanding of the relevance of the continent’s artists whose themes are universal. And there is also a groundswell of interest from collectors and investors who have seen the prices climbing steadily.”

Leading French art and design auction house PIASA has a 1,000 sq metre hotel particulier on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in the heart of the city's art market district. Innovative auctions have established its reputation with specific themes or devoted to a single artist or designer, or covering such specialist collectables as furniture & objets d’art, haute epoque, 20th century design and modern & contemporary art.