Ok, 1917 that is not extremely old but in line with the colonial history.
The provenance is also not very interesting, No Picasso or other artist that owned and/or painted the mask.
It looks like a case Indeed of 2 or more people with way too much money at the auction.
Personally I would not want this mask in my livingroom if it was for free.
I like the Fang statues, but the masks do not appeal to me.
The claim from the Gabonese people is interesting.
They where present at the auction, so they were not triggered by the end bid of 4,2 million.
I tend to over simplify such claims.
If it is very efident that the objects where looted, there is some bassis for the claim. But in this case, it could have been a gift, or maybe even purchased in 1917.
Thanks for sharing this weird auction.
Now back to the Etnographic arms section
Best regards,
Willem