The record sale took place on March 26, 2022 in Montpellier. That day, an extremely rare carved African mask was sold for 4.2 million euros. A staggering sum, especially since the object in question, a mask of the Fang ethnic group dating from the 19th century, had been bought a year earlier for 150 euros by a second-hand dealer from a couple in their eighties. Considering themselves cheated, the retirees requested the cancellation of the sale. But this Tuesday, the Alès court rejected their request and ruled that the sale was compliant.
The court found that the plaintiffs, who had called on a second-hand dealer to get rid of the old items accumulated in their second home in Gard, “did not demonstrate any diligence in assessing the fair historical and artistic value of the property. » “Their negligence and carelessness characterize the inexcusable nature of their request,” adds the decision, which rejects their request to be able to cancel the sale and recover the amount paid by the buyer, who remained anonymous.
The Gabonese Republic also demanded the cancellation of the sale
On the occasion of a sale of African art objects, the second-hand dealer had contacted the Montpellier auction house which, after in-depth analyzes having made it possible to date this Fang mask from the 19th century, had estimated its value. value between 300,000 and 400,000 euros. The first estimates requested by the second-hand dealer were between 100 and 600 euros. The court found that it had not been demonstrated that the second-hand dealer, “prior to the sale, was aware of the unique value of the mask sold. »
The second-hand dealer had set the price “based on dedicated websites” and on opinions from auctioneers “who did not want the object”, had specified during the trial at the end of October in Alès Me Patricia Pijot, his lawyer, stressing that her client “is not a professional in valuation or African art”. The second-hand dealer “had no specific knowledge of African art,” the court confirmed in its judgment.
Intervening at the hearing to demand the cancellation of the sale and the repatriation of the mask, the Gabonese Republic also saw its request deemed inadmissible by the court.