A SALISBURY saleroom is first in the country to hold auctions dedicated solely to tribal art.

Woolley & Wallis, in Castle Street, is holding its second Tribal Art and Antiquities Sale today, with pieces from all over the world including Africa, Egypt and the South Pacific Islands.

Leading London salerooms such as Sotheby’s and Christie’s have tribal departments but hold their sales in New York or Paris; Woolley & Wallis is the first auctioneers to hold them in the UK.

Will Hobbs has been with the company for 20 years and is the new head of tribal arts. He said: “I’ve been dabbling with it for about five or six years and had quite good results. We’re getting a good reputation for it. Now I’ve been travelling around the whole country and getting stuff from abroad and we’ve got about 660 lots for this auction.

“A lot of the stuff has been brought back by English tourists and left in people’s attics for years, but it’s becoming very popular again. Each day people will bring in something different. I will be learning for the rest of my life.”