An antique dealer has appeared in court in Alès for allegedly deceiving a pensioner couple after he paid £130 for an African mask before selling it for £3.6million.
The couple, aged 81 and 88, from Nimes in France, decided to sell the ‘Ngil’ mask in 2021.
The mask was brought to France by the husband’s grandfather, who was a colonial governor in Africa.
In September of that year, they asked a dealer, known as Mr Z, to clear their holiday home. They then sold the mask to him for £130.
Mr. Z then sold it on at an auction in Montpellier a few months later for £3.6million. The antiques dealer claimed that he did not know how valuable the mask was when he purchased it.
Following the opening of the case today at a court in Alès, the Gabonese government has asked for the legal proceedings to come to a halt, amid calls for a criminal investigation to take place.
The government has said that the mask was stolen and it should therefore be returned to the country, according to the BBC.
The French couple did not know of the colossal value of the item until they read about the sale in a newspaper. They then brought forward a civil case to annul the sale.
It is a traditional Fang mask from Gabon, used in rituals such as weddings and funerals.
