'Stolen goods': African mask sells for $4.6M in France amid protests

A carved mask from Central Africa, dating from the 19th century, has been sold in France for $4.6 million, despite Gabonese protesters in the auction house calling for the item's "'restitution".

"It's a case of receiving stolen goods," a man describing himself as a member of the Gabonese community in Montpellier exclaimed from the back of the auction room, surrounded by half a dozen compatriots on Saturday.

"We'll file a complaint. Our ancestors, my ancestors, from the Fang community, we will recover this object", the protester added, describing the mask as a "colonial ill-gotten gain".

The rare wooden "Ngil" mask, used in ceremonies by the Fang ethnic people of Gabon, smashed its estimate of $330,000 - $430,000 at the auction in the southern French city of Montpellier.

Auctioneer Jean-Christophe Giuseppi said the auction was "entirely legal", as far as he was aware.

READ MORE: France to return art looted from Benin after colonisation

Fang masks

Accompanied by security guards, the demonstrators left the auction hall calmly, but continued their protest against the sale of African works of art.

Saturday's auction also included a Congolese chair which sold for $48,300.

With added costs and fees, the total paid by the successful bidder for the Fang mask was $5.76 million, close to a record for such an item.

In 2006, a similar Fang mask brought in $6.48 million at a Paris auction.

READ MORE: Should France return ‘stolen’ African art? One activist thinks so