U.S. Foundation Buys Sacred Native American Masks to Return to the Hopi Nation

THE LOS ANGELES TIMES
By David Ng

A Hopi mask that was being sold by the Paris auction house Eve as part of a sale of Native American objects on Monday.

CALIFORNIA---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 controversial sale took place several months after another French auction house sold 70 Native American artifacts despite international criticism. Neret-Minet Tessier & Sarrou sold the objects at an April auction for a total of €930,000 ($675,479). [link]