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A second-hand deader in France is facing a lawsuit for allegedly deceiving a couple by selling an African mask at almost a 2,800,000 per cent markup. An unnamed pensioner couple, who live in Eure-et-Loir, south-west of Paris, sold the rare mask to the dealer at €150 (£130) who further sold it at €4.2m (£3.7m). As the case brought by the French couple opened on Tuesday, the dealer appeared in court. But the Gabon government and campaigners have said that the rare artefact should instead be returned to its country of origin. The rare 19th-Century "Ngi" mask which was made by the Fang people of Gabon was lying in dust in the attic of the couple’s holiday home in Gard, southern France. The couple had called the dealer as they had decided to sell their home. The wooden mask was found in a cupboard in the house that belonged to the man’s grandfather, René-Victor Fournier, who had been a colonial administrator in Africa in the early 20th Century. The dealer bought several items from the couple, including the wooden mask. It was six months later that the couple while reading a newspaper found out that the mask had been in action in Montpellier and that it was an artefact even rarer than Leonardo da Vinci’s painting. The couple said they had “almost fallen off their chairs” when they recognised the photo and the auction catalogue said it was collected around 1917, in unknown circumstances by the French colonial governor René-Victor Edward Maurice Fournier (1873-1931), probably during a tour in Gabon”. The discovery prompted excitement among art dealers and media, with one expert telling a French TV that only 10 such items were made by Fang masters. “This type of mask is even rarer than a Leonardo da Vinci painting – we know of 22 paintings by the great master, but we only know of 10 to 12 masks created by the different Fang masters in Gabon,” the expert said. At an auction in March 2022, the mask was bought for £3.7m by an unnamed person bidding by phone after being initially valued at £2,60,860. The couple later filed a civil suit against the dealer for giving them an unfair price and demanded the sale be annulled. During the hearing in an Ales court, the lawyers for the couple contended that the couple should receive the profits from action fairly after they unknowingly sold it at £130. “One has to be in good faith and honest; my clients would never have given up this mask at that price if they knew it was an extremely rare object,” their lawyer, Frédéric Mansat Jaffré, said this month to French outlets. Representatives of the Gabon government however said that the mask was stolen in the first place and should be returned. Solange Bizeau of the Collectif Gabon Occitanie said: “That mask was stolen at the time of colonisation … All these works of art – and so many that we see in museums – were taken, and the people who made them were told they were the devil’s work and they should instead believe in the Bible. And from that point on, these artefacts have appeared in Europe, enriching people who have made money from them for decades.” “This mask has a soul, it was used to establish justice in our villages. The discussion in court has been about morality, but what about the morality of the spoliation of works of art and our dignity? Where is the morality in that?” A decision by the court is expected in December. Read More US removes four African countries from trade deal for ‘gross human rights violation’ UN Security Council fails again to address Israel-Hamas war, rejecting US and Russian resolutions Kyiv preparing for ‘new wave’ of attacks on Avdiivka’ - latest Kyiv preparing for ‘new wave’ of attacks on Avdiivka’ - latest Nato chief says Russia must not be allowed ‘to take pieces of Ukraine’ Family of nine shot dead as they slept in Russian-occupied Ukrainian town

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A woman lived what could easily have been the opening to a horror movie when she discovered a secret room in her house. The homeowner, who goes by the username BigBrah1 on TikTok, shared a video of the spine-tingling find, last month. In the clip, she showed how she’d uncovered the hidden space by opening a cabinet in her bathroom to find a secret door. Pushing it open, she revealed a room decorated with rainbow-coloured hand and footprints and the words “Love Shack” painted across the wall. It was also decked out with drawings and the names of three girls written on a piece of paper. The TikTok has racked up more than 7 million views and 600,000 likes in the past month, with viewers sharing their alarm at the concealed lair. @bigbrah1 what do i do ? #horror#horrortok#hiddenroom#hiddenroominmyhouse#halloween#scary#90s#analoghorror#fyp#scarytiktoks “It was either a fun little hideout, or the creepiest thing ever,” one wrote. “Absolute weirdest vibes,” said another. “Love shack? The feet?” “That is so obviously a room decorated for children that says LOVE SHACK!?? HUH!!” added a third. “It’s giving abduction vibes,” noted a fourth. In a follow-up, BigBrah offered some context surrounding her surprise discovery, explaining that it was located in the basement bathroom of her home, which made it “even creepier”. She said that she was now using it for storage and had given it a fresh coat of paint, but stressed that it was “still creepy as hell”. “This is definitely made for children because you cannot stand in here at all,” she added. Still, responding to some commentators who suggested she should report it to law enforcement, she said: “I don't like coming down here, but I will not be calling the police because [...], what the hell do you want me to tell them?” @bigbrah1 Replying to @garfield ty for all the support !! ?? A fellow TikToker replied to her update by saying: “I would be digging into the history of the home for sure. The people who owned it. Or built it. So odd. Gives off not good vibes.” “So you think someone built a child-sized insulated room for no reason?????” wrote another. “What do you mean you don’t know what to tell the police[?]” But others dismissed all the hysteria, with one insisting: “That's just a teenager's secret spot, you guys overanalyse everything.” Another pointed out: “This looks like the ultimate 90's kid hideout. Lots of us loved the song ‘Love Shack’ by the B-52's.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings

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