I heard Barbara Hoffman speak at the De Young recently, on art law and provenance, and then walked with her around the AOA galleries. AOA means “Africa, Oceana and Americas.” Provenance is not a neat part of France but the story of how a piece of art ended up in the museum, who owned it previously. This African folk carving, from the 1930s, looks like it features a soccer ball, but maybe that is a depiction of the planet we live on.
Speaking of balls, when I name-dropped the counsel of one of my former New York jazz clients, Noel Silverman, Ms. Hoffman stated that she and him won a tennis tournament together.
Here is a link to Barbara’s firm:
http://www.hoffmanlawfirm.org/about.html
Folk art from Africa at De Young which seems to feature a soccer ball
Plastic Alto with Mark Weiss 
Speaking of Africa, I was saddened to read of the passing of bar owner Henry Africa,
http://sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com/2011/03/legendary_bar_owner_henry_afri.html
I did not know him buy my friend Rich Durante, before getting his PhD at North Carolina, worked the bars of SF under Henry Africa protogee Harry Denton. I was visiting Rich the night I met Lane Wurster at a Superchunk show.
Sam Whiting explains their connection. I didn’t realize that Africa started the Dartmouth Social Club.
http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-09-17/entertainment/17207336_1_nightclub-operators-clothing-store-bar-business
http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-09-17/entertainment/17207336_1_nightclub-operators-clothing-store-bar-business
I did not realize that Henry Africa also started The Dartmouth Social Club.
Sam Whiting talks to Denton here.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/01/MNOU1I1N69.DTL
did not go to Dartmouth