its one of those scams where you get an email from someone in a different country saying they are starting up a textile company or something and are looking for people to sell their stuff in your own country. They say you’ll make a shit load of money, but first got to send them money as an investment into the company. Basicly a new twist on the “I am nigerian royalty and need your help moving my money” scam.
So this guy wrote back saying he heads some art institue that buys and sells art and also offers huge scholarships to up and comming artists. So he scammed the scammer into making and sending him those pretty awesome carvings.