PIASA is honored to present the continuation of the collection of Belgian gallerist Pierre Loos. The inaugural sale took place in 2018 and featured over 600 lots dedicated to precious ethnographic objects collected in Africa, as well as the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.
This new sale represents half a century of object collection and will be dedicated to the arts of Africa, Oceania, and Asia, among others. It reflects some of his favorites such as the velvets of Kasaï, the neck rests from East Africa, and the engraved gourds from Congo.
The unique pieces, coming from around the world, trace and define his passions.
AMBRE CONGO - PIERRE LOOS 1974 - 2024
Journey of a Passion
The contamination with objects from the past dates back to when I was 13, during a visit with my father to the flea market in Brussels in 1962.
The second decisive encounter was in my first year of medical school, sitting next to an extraordinary woman with a Tahitian appearance, adorned with silver, amber, coral, and turquoise jewelry, which signaled the end of my medical studies and the beginning of a passion for travel.
From 1970 to 1979, the '3rd act' began with 30 trips to Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, India, Nepal, Laos, and Thailand. But also, after three years of trading in a tent at the Sablon market, the opening of my first gallery on December 6, 1974, in the basement of 22 Rue des Minimes.
In 1980, following a chance encounter, I embarked on the 'African period' with the discovery of the Democratic Republic of Congo, over 10 years punctuated by 28 trips.
In 1981, the Ambre Congo gallery settled on the first floor of 17 Rue des Minimes, just opposite the first gallery, until 1985. The purchase of an old factory at the end of Impasse Saint-Jacques, at No. 17, brought a new dynamic as well as the creation of a movement that gave birth to the BRUNEAF international fair, the heart of Sablon's life for 40 years.
The last 24 trips were made between 1995 and 2005 in West Africa, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Niger. None of this would have been possible without the valuable help and friendship of Thomas Bayet, Marc Félix, Sophie Caltaux, and others who will recognize themselves.
At the beginning of 2024, on the eve of my 75th birthday and facing significant changes in the dynamics of the primitive art market, I decided to end my career as a gallerist by offering, in several sales at Piasa, the objects I have purchased for nearly 50 years, giving them a second life.
These sales will, I hope, conclude a career that has brought me 50 years of encounters, discoveries, and ultimately great happiness in the extraordinary world of primitive arts.
Pierre Loos, April 22, 2024
