Auction of Mandela items halted amid court case in South Africa
The New York auction house, which had planned to sell several dozen of Nelson Mandela's personal belongings next month, suspended the event after a South African government agency filed court papers to force the items' return.
On Monday, the website that displayed the items, including Mr Mandela's colorful “Madiba” shirts and his hearing aids, has been updated with a text banner over a triumphant photo of Mr Mandela: “THIS AUCTION HAS BEEN SUSPENDED.”
The auction by Guernsey's was scheduled for February 22.
Arlan Ettinger, the president of Guernsey's, said in a statement on Wednesday that the company had become aware of a “difficult path ahead if it were to proceed with the auction.”
“The Nelson Mandela auction should have been a special event,” he said. “We are saddened that that opportunity is now being lost.”
This is the second time in three years that an attempt to put Mandela's belongings up for auction has been scrapped.
Mr Mandela's eldest daughter, Makaziwe Mandela, has tried to sell her father's shirts, gifts he received from US presidents and many other items to help fund a memorial garden.
But the South African Heritage Resources Agency went to court to stop the sale, arguing that some of the 70 or so objects are considered 'heritage objects' under the country's Heritage Act, meaning they cannot be left without a permit can be removed from the country. .
The first attempt at a sale, in 2022, fell through. But in December, a panel of three judges at the High Court in Pretoria sided with Mandela's daughter, ruling that the agency's interpretation of “heritage objects” was “exaggerated.”
Mr Ettinger said at the time that he had been informed the court's ruling resolved the matter. But this month the South African agency said it had joined other groups and would do so request permission to appeal against the judgment.
A spokeswoman for the Constitutional Court of South Africa said there was no immediate update on the appeal. The agency said in a statement on Tuesday that it was still waiting for his appeal to be upheld.
In the statement, the agency said it appreciated Guernsey's cooperation and welcomed the decision to suspend the auction, calling it “a responsible and considerate approach.”
Mr Ettinger said Guernsey's “recognises the need for historic preservation” and that the auction house had recently received “additional South African claims” which further complicated matters. He didn't work it out.