A work of art by revered late sculptor Ben Enwonwu was recently auctioned in London on Tuesday for £1.1 million.
The painting called ‘Christine’ had been with a family since it was designed in Lagos in 1971.
The family was oblivious of the painting’s worth until it googled the signature.
According to London auction house:“The family were unaware of the significance of the painting or the importance of the artist, until a chance ‘googling’ of the signature led them to Sotheby’s free Online Estimate Platform.”
The painting fetched over seven times the pre-auction estimate.
The portrait is considered a national icon, with Booker Prize-winning novelist Ben Okri telling AFP that it was thought of as “the African Mona Lisa”.
Enwonwu, who died in 1994, is considered the father of Nigerian modernism.
He made three paintings of ‘Tutu,’ the locations of all of which had been a mystery until the recent discovery.