Paris - Masks sold over protest
Print Edition
A Paris auction of sacred masks from the Hopi and San Carlos Apache Native American tribes fetched more than 550,000 euros (US$756,641) on Monday, defying protests from the United States and activists.
The US embassy had asked for the suspension of the sale of colorful ceremonial masks and headdresses after the failure of a legal challenge by advocacy group Survival International on behalf of Arizona’s Hopi tribe.
Some 24 “Kachina” masks — which are worn by dancers during religious ceremonies and considered living beings by the up to 18,000-strong Hopi — were sold for 520,375 euros, said the EVE auction house that organized the auction. Three San Carlos Apache masks were sold for 30,000 euros.
The US embassy said the two tribes should have had the time to determine whether they could recover the items under a UNESCO convention against the illicit trafficking of cultural property, to which France is a signatory.
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