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The suit, which Chelsea dealer Lio Malca filed last Thursday, accused Upper East Side dealer Katzuhito Yoshii of borrowing the piece, Untitled (Football Helmet), with the ostensible purpose of showing it to his family, only to sell it to an unknown buyer for $300,000. In the court filing, Malca — who stated he had unsuccessfully asked for the work back after learning of the sale – demanded the return of the artwork or $500,000, which he claimed was the Basquiat's "actual value."

In a phone conversation, Malca told ARTINFO that he had canceled the lawsuit the next day after Yoshii delivered the sculpture, which is shaped like a helmet and is emblazoned with the word "AARON" and Basquiat's signature yellow crown. The exchange was an "uneventful" miscommunication, said Malca, whose secondary-market gallery specializes in Basquiat and other graffiti-influenced artists of the period.

"We tried to communicate, we didn't, and then when he got the documents he came back and said here's your piece," the dealer said. "I'm actually very close with him, I just couldn't get in touch with him. And that's it, that's it — it's all been settled and finished." Maica declined to go into further detail or describe the background of the artwork.

A representative at Madison Avenue's Yoshii Gallery said that the sculpture was returned on Friday, the same day they received notice of the lawsuit. He said Yoshii himself was traveling, and declined to provide further information.