African traveller, art dealer and consultant of Origomundi

Boris Konietzko was born on February, 8th 1925 as the son of the folklorist and art dealer Julius Konietzko and his wife Lore, later Lore Kegel. He first got in touch with African art when his father brought home objects from his expeditions that were commissioned by several European ethnological museums.

Boris Konietzko first travelled to Africa in 1954 as part of his work as biologist for the Institute des Parc Nationaux de Belgique. The aim of the expedition was to explore the Semliki River in former Belgian Congo.

From 1955 on he made several trips to Africa on his own initiative, studying language and music of different tribes and acquired tribal art objects for “Lore Kegel - Exotic Art”, an art dealer shop founded by his mother in 1935.

From 1956 till 1958 he was director of the zoological garden in Brazzaville, the capital of the French colony Equatorial Africa. This occupation also enabled him to extend his knowledge of African tribes, cultures and languages.

In 1957 Kegel-Konietzko became a partner in his mother's company, which was then called "Kegel and Konietzko – Exotic Art". In the years 1958 and 1959 Konietzko went on two extensive studies and shopping journeys through Central and West Africa.

These trips finally laid the basis for his position in the international world of art dealing. Since then the centre of his life and business is Hamburg-Blankenese. In 1964 he became the sole owner of the company which over the years gained international recognition under the name “Boris Kegel-Konietzko Ethnographica”.

Beside the sales activities in his Hamburg based gallery Kegel-Konietzko supplies and advises museums, collectors and dealers in Western Europe and the USA with African tribal art.
Quelle: Wikipedia

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Since 2007 Mr. Kegel-Konietzko is trading partner and consultant of Origomundi gallery. We spent many informative and entertaining hours with him enjoying his extensive knowledge and outstanding story telling skills. We herewith would like to thank him for his time, the wonderful stories and confidence he is giving us.

Alexander Dorn & Christoph Erbslöh
Gesellschafter Origomundi Ethnographica GbR

Kongo power figures were the collaborative creations of sculptors and ritual specialists. This work belongs to the most ambitious class of that tradition. It is one of only twenty such figures more than a meter high identified with the preeminent force of jurisprudence, Mangaaka.

Link to the Power-Figur: http://www.metmuseum.org