Native Americans want sacred masks saved from Paris auction
Article published the Thursday 04 April 2013 - Latest update : Thursday 04 April 2013
Native Americans want sacred masks saved from Paris auction
By Sarah Elzas in Paris
A Native American tribe, the Hopi, is asking for the return of ceremonial masks set to be sold at an auction in Paris next week. France is no stranger to such requests: an auction of pre-Colombian art at the end of March was contested by the governments of Mexico, Peru and Guatemala. And last year the Quai Branly museum returned sacred Maori objects to New Zealand.
On 12 April, 70 ceremonial masks used by the Hopi, Zuni and Jemez tribes in the south-western United States will be sold at the Drouot auction house.
"This sale is very emotional for me," says appraiser Daniel Dubois, who researched and wrote the catalogue for the auction.
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Most of the objects for sale are from the Hopi tribe in Arizona. Made of colourfully painted leather or fabric, decorated with fibres or feathers, the Hopi do not call these objects masks. They are called friends, considered to embody the Katcina spirits of the Hopi religion.
More:
http://www.english.rfi.fr/culture/20130404-native-americans-want-sacred-masks-saved-auction
