A retired couple in France sold an African mask to a junk dealer for 150 euros without realizing its true value. The junk dealer probably didn’t do this at first and yet he later achieved proceeds of 4.2 million euros at an auction for the mask.
A court in Alès, southern France, has now dismissed a lawsuit to reverse the purchase from 2021. The court ruled that the second-hand dealer responsible for dissolving the household in the couple’s second home had no special knowledge of art objects.
Gabon demands the return of the mask
But the couple knew that the man’s grandfather had brought the mask, which was lying in the attic, along with other historical items, to France from Africa around 1900 after being stationed as a governor. The court ruled that the couple still failed to have the mask valued at its actual value.
The junk dealer cannot be assumed to have acted intentionally. Only an expert later estimated the mask to be worth between 300,000 and 400,000 euros on behalf of the auction house in Montpellier. After the sale, the junk dealer offered the couple a payment of 300,000 euros.
The mask was a so-called Fang mask from Gabon from the 19th century. The Republic of Gabon also appeared as a plaintiff in the process and demanded that the mask be returned to the country. The court also rejected this claim.