Is it a question of money or the soul of the Gabonese people? An antique dealer buys a fang mask from an elderly retired couple in southern France for 150 euros and sells it shortly afterwards for 4.2 million euros. The pensioners filed a complaint to have the sale canceled, but an association of Gabonese people in France also filed a complaint.
It all started in September 2021 in Gard. An elderly retired couple wants to clear out their second home and sells, among other things, a carved wooden mask that they found in the attic to an antique dealer for 150 euros. He dates the object with carbon 14, commissions an ethnologist and offers it in an extraordinary auction at the auction house in Montpellier as an extremely rare fang mask from Gabon. Result: Bought for 150 euros, the mask cost 300,000 euros and was finally sold in March 2022 for 4.2 million euros to a buyer whose name and nationality remain secret. Since then, the retired couple have felt cheated and have filed a complaint against the used goods dealer. Well named? Question to Yves-Bernard Debie, general director of the Parcours des Mondes, the reference meeting in matters of primitive arts, but also lawyer and advisor to the end buyer of the catch mask in question.
« This is clearly not a deception. The sellers were aware that they were selling an antique African mask that came from an ancestor who died in 1931. So it must have been an authentic ancient mask. The used dealer knew he was buying an old African mask. It’s not about deception, but simply about the value of things. »
“Collected » under unknown circumstances
Before the sale, the antique dealer contacted the retired couple to research the origins of this 55 centimeter high mask, beautifully carved from cheesewood and fascinating with its kaolin patina. The 86-year-old then explained that his grandfather, René-Victor Edward Maurice Fournier, was a colonial governor in Africa at the time and had “collected” this mask around 1917 under unknown circumstances. In an increasingly strict art market regarding the provenance of works, is this information enough to dispel doubts? With this information alone, would it have been possible to display and sell this mask in the lunar course? “ A Fang mask collected in Gabon in 1917 by a well-known governor. The origin is clear enough to find its place at the largest trade fair in the world and also in a museum », confirms Yves-Bernard Debie.
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On March 26, 2022, Solange Bizeau was present at the auction house in Montpellier, not to buy but to protest the sale. For them, this rare mask from the end of the 19th century is part of the inalienable heritage of the Fang people in Gabon. “ I am Gabonese and come from the Fang culture. This mask is not for sale. This object has a soul. I find that really shocking », emphasizes the one who is also president of the Collectif Gabon Occitanie (CGO), which is actively campaigning for the return of the work in Montpellier, pointing out that it is a mask of the Ngil secret society of the Fang people in Gabon. For Yves-Bernard Debie, this claim has no legal basis: “ We must already recognize the legitimacy of people who claim to be able to speak on behalf of Gabon or an ethnic group. This is a mask collected under completely correct circumstances. There is not the slightest reason to be able to comply with such a refund request. »
The power of an Ngil mask
Paul-Henri Gondjout Mbone Nze has heard this call to prove his legitimacy many times. So he answers quite calmly: « I am first and foremost Gabonese, but before I am Gabonese, I come from the Fang community. And I myself am the grandson and great-grandson of an Ngil master, i.e. a judge who belongs to the brotherhood of the Ngil secret society. This is my legitimacy as an heir to demand the unconditional return of this mask. »
As a member of the Collectif Gabon Occitanie in Montpellier, he likes to try to clear up other misunderstandings or ambiguities. No, the rituals of the secret Ngil community have not been abandoned and yes, masks still play a role in society today.
« This is still practiced, although it has been banned since colonization around 1910. But the Ngil ceremony is still practiced secretly in Gabon. What is the purpose of this mask? ? Specifically, when there were crimes or sins committed by residents of a village or town, the Judge Ngil, who had a secret identity, was the one who worked to restore order, justice and truth. Nobody knew who he was. But when the mask came out, you had to know that it was a moment when justice would work, when there would be sanctions. And Ngil was never wrong ! »
The mask and the ancestors
For Solange Bizeau it is inconceivable that the mask was sold or voluntarily given to the French governor Fournier: « Our ancestors told us that the settlers told them that all these objects were just demons, black magic, evil things and that they had to get rid of them. And to this day they are getting rich from it. »
« This mask was simply stolen, torn off, continues Paul-Henri Gondjout Mbone Nze. This was a common practice during colonization. Most governors sent to Africa understood the importance of works of worship associated with rites and spirituality. It was busy. They went into the villages, sowed terror, and confiscated everything they could from the natives to build extraordinary collections. »
During the sale, the Gabonese Embassy in Paris said: certified us to do everything with ourselves to restore this mask “. In the meantime there was one Regime change in Gabon and the collective is there, “ Reconnect with the new cultural managers “. Today, the Collectif Gabon Occitanie declares that it has filed a lawsuit at the Montpellier court against the auctioneer of the sale, but also against the buyers and the descendants of the governor to whom the mask belonged. For Mbone Nze, on the other hand, the legal dispute is likely to be between the retired couple and the antique dealer, who had made a good deal for 150 euros, didn’t even take place.” Today we have a family that feels robbed and says they were scammed by a thrift store and two parties end up fighting over an item that doesn’t belong to them. »
“This mask still has powers”
In the meantime, the pensioners’ lawyer summoned the used goods dealer and stopped the sale. They are demanding the transaction be completely canceled because they were misled about the value of the item. The case will be heard on October 31st in the Alès court in the Gard. But the case law of the “Poussin judgments”, which had previously led to the cancellation of the sale of two paintings by the painter Nicolas Poussin that were wrongly attributed to smaller authors, does not apply here, comments Yves-Bernard Debie: “ The “Poussin” ruling of 1978 has absolutely nothing to do with this. There was an authenticity issue with the Poussins, but the question posed with the mask is poorly posed and poorly covered by much media. We are dealing with a question of value. However, according to settled case law, according to Article 1136 of the French Civil Code, there is no nullity of a sale if one is mistaken about the value. An incorrect economic assessment is not a reason for disability. »
The question of values also resonates, albeit differently, in the mind of Solange Bizeau. For the President of the Collective CGO, the questions of value and restitution are at the heart of this affair, which is being followed closely by her relatives in Gabon: “ Our parents were happy and proud that we were able to maintain this momentum. We have suffered so much. Today there is a new generation that will not allow that. Those who demand this mask are only the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the thieves and kidnappers, and we are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those we have stolen from. The fight is here. Today this truth must come to light. »
Paul-Henri Gondjout Mbone Nze is not thinking of giving up on the matter either, quite the opposite. “ We are very pleased that the sale could be stopped. The buyer in question cannot benefit from the stolen item, and the Governor’s descendants cannot benefit from the sale of a stolen item. In the end, the Ngil, the mask of truth, claims his own justice! I am sure he will return to the Fang people. It’s a mask that still has powers. »
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