Groups Unite to Bid On Famed Collection of Native Artifacts

Summary

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One of the artifacts to be offered at the Oct. 5 sale by Sotheby's is a "magnificent" shaman's mask described by the auction house as "an extraordinary world-class work of art" and which is expected to fetch up to $1 million US.

A "rare and important" war club and a stunning clan hat carved in the shape of a frog -- each worth about $500,000 -- stand out among the 56 other relics, which comprise a collection with "unparalleled artistic and historic value" and a total price estimated at more than $3 million US.

"We're certainly aware of the rapid approach of the date," Andrea Laforet, director of ethnology and cultural studies at the Museum of Civilization, told CanWest News Service. "The reality of the situation is that public institutions in Canada are not situated financially in such a way that they can find $4 million or more."

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Groups Unite to Bid On Famed Collection of Native Artifacts

By Randy Boswell

FEDERAL heritage officials, museum curators and aboriginal leaders are scrambling to create a multimillion-dollar war chest to purchase and repatriate the worl...

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