An "African Mona Lisa", a real "national icon" in Nigeria, considered missing, will be auctioned after being found in a London apartment.
This portrait of the princess Ife Adetutu Ademiluyi, nicknamed "Tutu", painted in 1974 by the Nigerian artist Ben Enwonwu, will go on sale on February 28 by Bonhams auction house, a sale broadcast live in Lagos to allow potential buyers to come forward.
"I consider it the African Mona Lisa," says Nigerian novelist Ben Okri, winner of the Booker Prize, about this lost portrait after being last exposed in 1975.
"For 40 years, this is a legendary painting, everyone talks about it, wondering where is 'Tutu'?", Says the writer, interviewed by AFP at Bonhams. [The artist] did not just represent the girl, he represented the whole tradition. It is a symbol of hope and regeneration in Nigeria, the symbol of the Phoenix rising from the ashes. "(AFP / Photo AFP)
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