Having purchased an African face mask from an elderly couple for £129 and selling it for £3.6 million, the art dealer is being sued by the elderly couple.
In 2021, the unidentified 81-year-old and 88-year-old Nimes, France, residents decided to sell the “Ngil” mask while they were cleaning out their home. They sold it to a merchant by the name of Mr. Z in September of that year.
A few months after purchasing it for a little sum, he sold it at an auction in Montpellier for an astounding £3.6 million.
The piece of art is a traditional Gabonese Fang mask, which is worn during ceremonies like weddings and funerals. According to ARTnews, the husband’s grandfather, an African colonial administrator, brought the mask to France.
The item’s enormous value was unknown to the French couple until they read about the sale in a newspaper.
They are currently suing Mr. Z because they think he defrauded them.
Although the case is still pending, the Nimes court of appeals declared on June 28 that the couple’s claim “appears to be well-founded in principle.” According to ARTnews, the court mandated that the sale’s earnings remain frozen until the conclusion of the case.
The pair claims that the vendor concealed his concerns over the artifact’s value.
He contacted three French auction houses for a valuation rather than putting the mask on display at his shop. The final of these was an expert in African artefacts who hired a professional analyst to examine the mask.
The mask had an estimate of between £259,416 and £345,888 when it was put up for auction, but it sold in March of last year for much more.
When the couple was threatened with legal action, the dealer initially gave them £259,416; however, the offer was turned down because it was opposed by their kids, according to court records analysed by Artnet News.
The Fang people, who live in parts of Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, carve the wooden masks.
On the lower half of the one that was sold at the auction, there are ornate motifs that suggest a lengthy beard.
An ethnologist expert stated the mask was employed by the Ngil, a secret male organisation that was a part of the Fang people and was in charge of overseeing judicial proceedings. Tests dated the mask to the 19th century.
According to court records obtained by Artnet News, only a dozen or so additional reference pieces are known to exist worldwide, in Western museums and collections. This piece of kaolin-coated cheese wood is therefore unusual in terms of its rarity.
