Annenberg Foundation Bought Hopi Masks to Return to Tribe

This is one way to deal with the sale of sacred artifacts:

The Annenberg Foundation has revealed that it was an anonymous bidder that paid $530,000 for 24 Native American artifacts that were being sold at a controversial auction in Paris earlier this week.

The Los Angeles-based charitable organization headed by Wallis Annenberg said that it will return the artifacts to the Hopi Nation and to the San Carlos Apache tribe.

Monday’s auction in Paris drew international attention after U.S. officials attempted to postpone the sale of the 24 items, which included masks, dolls and other items.

A court in France had dismissed an effort by an attorney who represented the tribes to withdraw the items from the sale that was organized by Eve, a French auction house for antiques and art.

Pierre Servan-Schreiber, an attorney at Skadden in Paris, argued that the objects constituted sacred items and that they should be returned to their respective tribes.

Annenberg Foundation was anonymous bidder for Native American artifacts  (LA Times)