LThe layman who sells off an object of which he does not know the value, and who then learns that he has got rid of a treasure, cannot obtain the cancellation of his sales contract, because his ” error “ is judged « inexcusable » : he should have consulted a professional.
It is different for the layman who relies on a professional, as the following case reminds us. In 2015, an octogenarian from Perigord who needed money to finance her health expenses decided to sell the contents of a storage unit, sealed in containers for sixteen years.
She called on the Bordeaux company Baratoux-Dubourg Enchères. The auctioneer, Me Y entrusts an expert with classifying the papers (letters, engravings, drawings, various documents) and evaluating them, but he is responsible for the objects (furniture, trinkets, paintings).
Mme X then validates its estimates, in particular that, “between 200 and 300 euros”of a “oil on canvas, Languid faceXIXe century “, unsigned, which she believes to be worthless.
Read also (2023): Article reserved for our subscribers When an individual does not know he has a treasure and sells it to a second-hand dealer for 150 euros
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However, on June 3, 2015, the price of the latter soared to 50,000 euros. After questioning Me Y on the reason for this success, Mme X learns, not without surprise, that the Visage had, from she presentation in the catalogue, aroused the interest of art professionals. Perhaps for its resemblance to those, dying, of Raft of the Medusa, masterpiece by Géricault (1791-1824), which the auctioneer himself had initially thought of. This interest had only led him to add (without informing his client either) that the painting came from “from the family of the painter Gabriel Decamps” [1803-1860].
Clues in the archives
The doubt about the authorship of the painting is reinforced by the examination of the family archives that the expert has gathered: put up for sale despite the opposition of Mme X, who wanted to read them, they were bought… by her (2,390 euros + 500 euros in costs). His son, Mr. head, by Géricault, study for the Sinking of the Medusa”, and a restoration estimate from 1943).
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