In Burkina Faso, the African art market has many secrets. An ethnologist conducting ethnographic research there will discover the paradoxes inherent in their work, which typically seeks to disseminate these secrets. Solving these paradoxes theoretically and developing practical solutions in order to successfully conduct such a study helps inform current debates on the policy of open science. This article highlights the specific features of the market players’ register of knowledge and the ways in which it circulates. It stresses the heuristic value of the researcher taking into account the expectations of the ethnographized with regard to the knowledge that is coproduced, and details the solutions implemented to disseminate this knowledge. In doing so, it suggests avenues for reflection on the balance to be struck between speaking (or writing) and keeping silent.