Lawyer Emil Marañon III said he enjoyed the hunt when he found a bulul, or a carved wooden figure by the Ifugao people, in the city of Strasbourg in northern France.
In a social media post, Marañon said Strasbourg does not seem like a likely place to discover Philippine tribal art.
He said a friend of his in Brussels adopted the bulul for more than a year, before it went to Paris, and it will come home to Manila.
“As they say, the bigger joy in collecting is not the ownership, but in the hunt. And thanks to conspiring friends who make the hunting even more enjoyable!” he said.