March 14, 2013
71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests
71 native American masks are being auctioned, despite protests from the tribes that they belonged to. There are laws in place in many countries now that cover return of human remains & there are also laws in the US relating to Native American artefacts. However, these items are not covered by any of these & as such the auction is legal. One has to ask the question though of whether it is Moral though? These items could not be taken now from native tribes in the same way as happened originally.
From:
Indian Country Today Media Network
71 Hopi and Zuni Masks to be Auctioned in Paris
ICTMN Staff
March 07, 2013On April 12, a collection of 71 Hopi and Zuni masks will be auctioned by Neret-Minet at the Druout Richelieu gallery and auction house in Paris, France. The array of katsinam masks was amassed by a collector over the course of 30 years, and date to the late 19th and early 20th century, according to the description at Druout.com (a translated version can be found at ArtDaily.org).
“The idea that a people would dedicate so much time and energy to the rise of celestial bodies fascinated our collector,” reads the auction’s description. “In his collection, the CROW MOTHER mask, Angwusnasomtaqa in the Hopi language, held pride of place, and he had to wait over 20 years to attend the Powamu rituals in early February, the only time the mother of all the Katsinam appears in the village. By his own admission, you have to see the masks in dances to fully appreciate them.”
The text goes on to describe ten other masks being auctioned.Not everyone is thrilled about the auction. In a post at Muddy Roads & Dusty Trails, a blogger describes the Hopi as “horrified.”
“Under American law [the masks] should be repatriated to the Hopi Nation,” the blogger writes. “The auction house knows this, from their good description of the pieces on can easily deduct that they know about the power of these friends but prefer the power of cash and carry. Katsinam should never be sold on the auction block. The sadness on Hopi is immeasurable. The art stolen under the Nazi regime is also in the process of being returned to their original owners families. Let the same rule be applied.”
- Sothebys cancels sale of looted Benin Oba mask : January 27, 2011
- Smithsonian returns more than 200 artefacts to Yurok tribe : October 19, 2010
- Native Canadian art heads home : October 6, 2006
- Sotheby’s cancels sale of disputed African mask : February 10, 2011
- Birmingham University returns Native American skulls to Salinan tribe in California : May 21, 2012
- Austrian auction house plans to sell African art despite unclear provenance : December 6, 2011
- Sotheby’s to auction disputed “Oba” mask from Benin : January 24, 2011
- Study on Native American Scalp in German museum could lead to restitution : September 10, 2014
traveliada said,
03.14.13 at 1:58 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
roullaO said,
03.14.13 at 2:02 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
AnnaAnthro said,
03.14.13 at 2:04 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
BeatriAnthro said,
03.14.13 at 2:17 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
grhluna25 said,
03.14.13 at 2:24 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
Matthew said,
03.14.13 at 2:31 pm
There is a followup article on this that I just noticed.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/opinion/zuni-museum-director-responds-auctioning-hopi-and-zuni-masks-paris-148141
Shennyitalia said,
03.14.13 at 3:23 pm
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J
tamarasiuda said,
03.15.13 at 1:22 am
RT @elginism: Blog post: 71 Native American Hopi & Zuni masks to be auctioned in Paris despite protests http://t.co/3yBm0Zmq0J