Art World Whodunit: Who Broke Ancient Statue?
As the old saying goes, “You broke it, you bought it.”
An avid art collector and conservator says that’s what should have happened during a photo shoot in her Manhattan apartment last year.
Corice Arman - widow of famed French-American artist Arman — says a klutzy cameraman knocked over an ancient Terra Cotta figurine from Nigeria worth at least $300,000. It dates back to roughly 500 B.C.
They amassed one of the most respected collections of African art in the world. They had - and she still has — a mission to acquire the pieces in hopes to donate them to museums. The shattered statue was, she says, one such piece - destined for the Museum for African Art. Corice is a trustee there and already has made several donations.