African Art Appraiser was founded by Richard Moss to provide collectors, estates, museums, and institutions with expert, unbiased appraisal and authentication services for African art from all traditions and time periods.
Founder & Lead Art Appraiser
Richard Moss founded African Art Appraiser with a singular mission: to bring rigorous, culturally informed expertise to the appraisal and authentication of African art. His deep knowledge spans the full breadth of African artistic traditions — from the bronze castings of Benin to Dogon sculpture, from Fang reliquary figures to Kuba textiles — spanning every region of the African continent.
Richard's approach combines traditional connoisseurship — understanding tool marks, patina development, stylistic conventions, and cultural context — with modern scientific methods including carbon-14 dating, thermoluminescence testing, and X-ray fluorescence analysis.
Every appraisal is treated as both a scholarly investigation and a client service engagement. Richard believes that understanding the cultural significance of a piece is inseparable from determining its market value — and that every collector deserves honest, defensible answers.
African art appraisal is a specialized discipline that demands deep cultural knowledge, scientific rigor, and an understanding of a rapidly evolving global market. Our practice serves clients worldwide — appraising art originating from every corner of the African continent.
We work with private collectors, museums, galleries, estates, insurance firms, and legal professionals across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa. Distance is no barrier — we provide remote preliminary assessments and travel for in-person examinations.
From Nok terracottas to Makonde carvings, from Benin bronzes to Ethiopian processional crosses, from Kuba textiles to Zulu beadwork — we appraise art from over 50 African cultures spanning thousands of years of artistic production.
African art auction sales reached $70.5 million in 2025 — a 43% increase. As the market corrects decades of undervaluation, the need for expert, defensible appraisals has never been greater. We are at the center of this transformation.
African art has been systematically undervalued for decades — dismissed as "craft" or "artefact" rather than recognized as the profound artistic tradition it represents. As the global art market corrects this historical bias, accurate appraisal and authentication become more important than ever.
We exist to serve as a trusted authority in this space — providing collectors, families, institutions, and legal professionals with expert opinions backed by deep cultural knowledge, scientific rigor, and current market intelligence.
Our commitment is to honesty, accuracy, and respect for the cultural heritage embodied in every piece we examine.
Yoruba, Igbo, Benin Kingdom, Ashanti, Baule, Dan, Senufo, Dogon, Bamana — masks, bronzes, gold weights, terracottas, and carved figures.
Fang, Kota, Kuba, Luba, Songye, Hemba, Mangbetu — reliquary figures, power objects, textiles, and royal art from across Central Africa.
Makonde, Maasai, Zulu, Shona — beadwork, headrests, stone sculpture, and ceremonial objects from eastern and southern traditions.
Whether you are a collector, an estate representative, a museum curator, or an attorney needing expert testimony — we are here to help.
