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By Marie-Thérèse Brincard
Arnold and
Joanne Syrop
Arnold Syrop, an architect specializing in interior design, and Joanne Syrop, a painter,
sculptor, and dancer, have an important and distinguished collection of miniature African bronzes. Their
artistic backgrounds and life-long pleasure in surrounding themselves with beautiful objects to look at on a daily
basis define their collecting. They seek formal tensions
and a dynamic interplay of form, and they are ready to
make bold choices in collecting both unusual, small
sculptural compositions from lesser-known artistic centers as well as some one-of-a-kind objects. We sat down
for a chat with Arnold in their New York home.
Collectors acquiring only African miniature
bronzes are rare. How did your passion for
small objects arise?
I’ve always loved small, finely detailed objects in the same way that the Japanese love
netsukes. When I was in college and not able
to buy art, I collected seashells. I was struck
both by their articulated structure and their
monumentality, two essential features for an
architect specializing in design. These two
seemingly opposite qualities—miniatureness
and monumentality—together with my interest in the abstraction of the human figure
led me to collect small African bronzes. I
found that holding a piece of sculpture in my
hand fully engages me and makes me carefully examine its patina, its form, and its
minute details.
Your specific interest has prompted
you to meet many dealers who have had
African miniature bronzes. Where did you buy
your first pieces and how did you shape your
collection?
I bought my first African metal piece in 1977. I was with
a collector friend and stopped by Merton Simpson’s
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gallery. Mert showed me an eighteenth-century gold
weight depicting a seated man whose tilted head and
closed eyes evoked remarkable grandeur and serenity
(fig. 3). I was moved by it and bought it immediately.
My friend, who was an experienced collector, was
shocked that I had agreed to pay such a high price for
such a “small object.” Over time, after seeing so many
examples and learning about gold weights, I realized
that my first piece was a superb example of its type. This
first Ashanti gold weight was followed by an Ashanti
equestrian figure also from the Simpson Gallery (fig. 2).
Like most collectors, however, I started collecting wood
sculptures and still have a few, such as a Dogon granary
door and a Dogon maternity figure, but I realized early
on that I could more easily buy a very fine miniature
bronze that ranked among the best of its type. Moreover, the discovery of archaeological bronzes from ancient cultures and their unusual sculptural qualities
brought endlessly surprising variations.
Another dealer that became an important source for my collection is Joseph
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Do you come across more great miniature
bronzes today than when you started thirty
years ago?
No! Although I did find wonderful pieces among a number of dealers at Parcours in Paris in September of 2011.
One particularly intrigued me and I bought it. It’s an
early Senufo figure riding an antelope (fig. 6).
FACING PAGE
FIG. 1: Arnold and
Joanne Syrop.
Photo: Stephanie Syrop.
FIG. 2 (left): Equestrian
figure. Ashanti, Ghana.
L: 9.5 cm.
FIG. 3 (center): Seated
figure. Ashanti, Ghana.
H: 7 cm.
FIG. 4 (bottom): Leopard.
Baule, Côte d’Ivoire.
L: 9 cm.
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FIG. 5 (top): Buffalo head
pendants. Djenne, Mali.
H: 4.5 cm, 8 cm, 4 cm.
FIG. 6 (below): Figure
riding an antelope.
Senufo, Côte d’Ivoire.
Knopfelmacher, the New York dealer who owned Craft
Caravan. He would go to Africa and bring back large
quantities of small metal objects that he kept in a box—
but not just any box—a cigar box labeled La Primadoro! After carefully looking at each of them, I would
usually find several fine miniature bronzes.
Among the many dealers that I visit, some have extensive materials from a specific area—Tellem/Dogon
(fig. 12), Sao (fig. 18), Gan (fig. 10), Côte d’Ivoire
(fig.17), for example—which might explain why I have
so many pieces from these four areas.
When I began collecting miniature bronzes, there was
hardly any interest in this material in the United States
and I had my pick of the market, albeit a very limited
one. In Europe, there have always been a few major collectors, a tradition that is still going on today. Maybe this
is partly because of Europe’s long tradition of producing
and collecting small precious metal objects?
L: 11 cm.
Photos: Pauline Shapiro.
FIG. 1 : Maro (barkcloth)
29 x 60 inches
The Menil Collection, Houston
Photo: Paul Hester
That raises another question: Do you need to
buy all the time?
I can wait a year before buying a piece. For twenty-five
years, I bought only one Sao bronze each year, even
though I’m interested in this culture. I’m still looking to
acquire a delicately wrought Bamana equestrian iron
staff but so far I haven’t found one that has a lasting aesthetic quality.
Your collection presents some distinguished features: the inclusion of sets, series, ensembles,
and one of-a-kind-pieces primarily from the
Western Sudan. Can you discuss them?
The most important group that distinguishes the collection is from Chad—thirty small and ancient Sao bronzes
(fig. 18) and twenty-five Kotoko figures, mostly equestrians (fig. 7). To my knowledge, it is among the largest
collections of this material in private hands. Although
many collectors consider Sao bronzes unrefined, these
sculptures display a robust primal aesthetic and a great
mastery of the lost wax process. Kotoko equestrian figures show wide variation in the treatment of the horse,
FIG. 7 (right): Display of
Kulango, Kotoko,
Senufo, and other
bronzes in the Syrops’
home.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
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TRIBAL people
with tapering legs, arching necks, and detailed trappings. Ten of these Kotoko bronzes on display at the
Neuberger Museum of Art have never before been
shown to the public. They are accompanied by a very
informative pamphlet. Another major group is made
up of about fifty objects from the Inland Niger River
Delta in Mali that includes nineteen protective amulets
in the form of hippopotamuses (fig.8). The last major
grouping is forty equestrian figures from Mali, Burkina
Faso, and Côte d’Ivoire that together form a dynamic
collection.
I think that four objects stand out as one-of-a-kind
sculpture: a Baule leopard (fig. 4), a Bankoni figure
(fig. 11), a Tellem/Dogon figure (fig. 12), and a Gan
snake (fig. 10).
You have 250 miniature bronzes displayed all
together on six shelves. What prompted you to
show them this way?
These small bronzes are best seen as a group. They all
work together like a symphony, like sculptural variations
on a theme. Miniature bronzes are rarely wild and expressionistic, but some display great fluidity and others
a looseness which seems, in some way, sketch-like. Still
others appear lyrical to me, such as the Kulongo horse
and rider (fig. 17), and contrast with a classical
Tellem/Dogon figure (fig. 12). Most miniature bronzes
are objects of personal use made to fulfill a religious
function. Years of handling often creates a buttery-colored smooth patina which is pleasing to the touch.
Archeological objects display a textured mélange of
green, brown, and grey or lustrous black surfaces that
add a rich note to the ensemble.
Authenticating a bronze is complex. How would
you summarize your experience so far?
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There is no simple way of authenticating a miniature
bronze sculpture. For the past thirty years I’ve spent
time every day with my loupe studying patinas on genuine objects as well as the constantly evolving forgeries
coming out of Africa. Like other collectors, I’ve learned
by handling and comparing thousands of examples, by
understanding stylistic variations produced by the same
cultural group. I’ve also learned that you cannot disregard a piece if you do not recognize the iconography,
such as a Djenne bronze that depicts a human figure
lying under an animal and being devoured (fig. 13).
Some determinations of authenticity come down to the
color of the dirt in the crevices and consulting with a
conservator who can, among other things, determine
whether a bronze has been marinated in chemicals to
give the appearance of an authentic patina.
SUGGESTED READING
Brincard, Marie-Thérèse, ed. 1982. The Art of Metal in
Africa. New York: The African-American Institute.
Bognolo, Daniela. 2008. “From Ritual to Protection:
Objects in Transition,” Constellations: Studies in
African Art. Marie-Thérèse Brincard, ed. Purchase:
Neuberger Museum of Art, pp. 11–14.
———. 2010. The Gan of Burkina Faso: Reconstitution of the History and Symbolics of a Little-Known
Kingdom. Geneva: Fondation Culturelle du Musée
Barbier-Mueller.
Lebeuf, Jean-Paul and Annie Lebeuf. 1950. Les Arts des
Sao: Cameroun, Tchad. Paris: Payot.
Windmuller, Kristen D. 2011. Horse and Rider: Bronze
Equestrian Figures from the Lake Chad Basin. Pamphlet edited by Marie-Thérèse Brincard. Purchase:
The Neuberger Museum of Art, pp. 1–4.
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FIG. 13 (left): Pendant
showing an animal
devouring a human.
Djenne, Mali.
FIG. 14 (left): Animal and
human figures.
Gambala, Mali.
H: 4 cm, 8 cm, and 7 cm.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
L: 4 cm.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
FIG. 15 (below):
Equestrian figures.
Kotoko, Chad.
H: 5 cm.
FIG. 16 (below left):
Chameleon pendant.
Lobi, Burkina Faso.
L: 9 cm.
Photos: Pauline Shapiro.
FACING PAGE
FIG. 8 (top left):
Pendants in the form
of hippopotamuses.
Djenne, Mali.
FIG. 9 (top right): Bracelet
decorated with
hippopotamuses.
Djenne, Mali.
D: 10 cm.
FIG. 10 (center): Double
serpent, the great
python Dibira. Gan,
Burkina Faso.
H: 26 cm.
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FIG. 11 (right): Standing
figure. Bankoni, Mali.
H: 22 cm.
FIG. 12 (below): Figure.
Tellem/Dogon, Mali.
H: 5 cm.
Photos: Pauline Shapiro.
FIG. 17 (right):
Equestrian figure. Kulango,
Côte d’Ivoire.
L: 11 cm.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
FIG. 19 (right):
Standing figure
wrapped in
serpents.
Undetermined
culture, Burkina
Faso.
FIG. 18 (below): Three
figures. Sao, Chad.
H: 7 cm, 5 cm, and 2 cm.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
H: 10 cm.
Photo: Pauline Shapiro.
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