Buying and reselling antiques with a price difference of 28,000 times, is the dealer a scam?

A lawsuit in the city of Nimes, France, is attracting a lot of attention. The plaintiffs are an elderly couple, aged 81 and 88. The couple decided to clean out their house in 2021 and sell some antiques and works of art. An art dealer was invited to view the items the elderly couple wanted to sell.

This person was interested in a mask originating from Africa. He offered to buy the mask for 150 euros (equivalent to 3.9 million VND), and then secretly sold it for... nearly 4.2 million euros (equivalent to 109 billion VND). The difference in price between buying and selling was up to... 28,000 times.

Mua đi bán lại cổ vật giá chênh lệch 28.000 lần, nhà buôn có lừa đảo? - 1 — The mask, which originated in Africa, is at the heart of the lawsuit (Photo: Daily Mail).

The elderly couple only learned about the mask’s true value after reading about an auction in Montpellier, France. The seller was the art dealer who had bought the mask from the elderly couple. At this point, the mask’s true value became clearer.

This is a 19th century handmade mask made of yellow poplar wood covered with a layer of white clay. This mask is an antique with cultural and artistic value. Masks of this type were previously used in funerals, weddings and community activities in Gabon - a country in Central Africa.

Currently, in the world, there are only about a dozen ancient masks of this type left, kept in museums.

The mask had been in the elderly couple’s family for generations. A family member who had lived in Africa in the 19th century brought the mask back to France as a souvenir.

Over time, the family lost track of the mask until an art dealer offered to buy it for a "cheap" price, and they agreed to sell it.

Mua đi bán lại cổ vật giá chênh lệch 28.000 lần, nhà buôn có lừa đảo? - 2 — Currently, in the world, there are only about a dozen ancient masks of this type left being kept in museums (Photo: Daily Mail).

When they read an article about the mask being sold at an auction, they believed they had been "cheated". A lawsuit was filed by the couple. Immediately, the sale of the mask was stopped, to serve the legal activities that would take place.

According to the couple, the art dealer took advantage of their trust and confidence to defraud them, offering a price that was vastly different from the actual value of the item. Apparently, the dealer knew about the mask’s true value, but he did not tell the elderly couple.

After purchasing the mask, he did not display it in his shop for sale, but quietly contacted auction houses in France to get an estimate of its value. The auction houses all gave prices in the hundreds of thousands of euros, but when the item was actually put up for auction, the figure was even higher.

When he learned that he would be sued, the art dealer offered the elderly couple 300,000 euros, but was refused.

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