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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;2manybooks, post: 9599822, member: 8267&quot;]According to the reporting, &quot;The 19th-Century wooden mask was probably acquired &quot;in unknown circumstances&quot; around 1917 by René-Victor Edward Maurice Fournier, a French colonial governor and the plaintiff&#039;s grandfather.&quot;</p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67759639" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67759639" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67759639</a></p><p><br /></p><p>It is difficult to know the actual circumstances of the transaction. In the late 19th and early 20th century there was often significant pressure on traditional societies to &quot;modernize&quot;, including converting to Christianity. Some groups chose to deliberately dispose of objects used in their previous religious beliefs.</p><p><br /></p><p>The particular mask in this case was from the Fang people, located in the French colonial areas of Gabon, Cameroon and Guinea. It is an &quot;Ngil&quot; mask. &quot;The Ngil were a secret male society tasked with protecting and administering justice, as well as keeping peace between clans and villages. The Ngil society took part in rituals and ceremonies that were intended to discourage people of the community that might have evil intentions and fight off witchcraft.&quot; </p><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngil_mask" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngil_mask" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ngil_mask</a></p><p>French colonial authorities and associated religious missions banned the Ngil societies in the period between 1910 and 1920 (depending on the region), to discourage the competing traditional systems of belief and control. This would correspond with the time that Fournier likely acquired the mask in question. </p><p><br /></p><p>Here is information on a similar mask sold at Sotheby&#039;s -</p><p><a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/african-oceanic-n09347/lot.100.html" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/african-oceanic-n09347/lot.100.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2015/african-oceanic-n09347/lot.100.html</a></p><p><br /></p><p>And the one that the court case was about -</p><p>[ATTACH=full]465574[/ATTACH][/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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