The government of South Africa has declared that it would dispute the sale of certain artifacts that belonged to the country’s anti-apartheid icon, Nelson Mandela, on the grounds that they have historical value and need to be kept in South Africa.
In a deal between New York-based auctioneers, Guernsey’s and Mandela’s family, particularly his daughter Makaziwe Mandela, the 75 items belonging to the nation’s first democratically elected president—who spent 27 years in prison for his anti-apartheid struggle against white minority rule—will be put up for auction on February 22.
But South Africa’s Ministry of Culture announced that it has filed an appeal to halt “the unpermitted export” of the objects. The items include the late leader’s iconic Ray-Ban sunglasses and “Madiba” shirts, personal letters he wrote from prison, as well as a blanket gifted to him by former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.
