In 2021, an elderly couple was clearing out their second home when they came across an African mask.
The couple went to a local antique dealer to sell the piece. Both parties agreed on a price: $158. But what they sold for cheap turned out to be a sublime artifact.
The mask is a rare piece of African art — a 19th-century Ngil mask used in rituals by the Fang people in Gabon. Only a handful of such pieces are in existence. The mask was apparently brought to France by the husband’s grandfather, who was a colonial governor in Africa.
After the antique dealer sought a few appraisals and radiocarbon dating, the mask was put up for auction for about $315,000 to $420,000. In March 2022, it was sold for a staggering 4.4 million dollars.
Now the couple is suing the dealer for roughly $5.55 million, for allegedly cheating them by withholding the knowledge that the piece was valuable.
The antique dealer attempted to settle the case by paying the couple about $315,000, but according to the lawsuit their children opposed the settlement. The case is still in court.
In a further plot twist, the row has piqued the interest of Gabon, which is now asking that the rare 19th-century mask be returned home.