Representatives of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Maori tribe, demanded from representatives of the auction house Sotheby's a number of Maori artifacts put up for auction, writes Gazeta.ru with reference to The Guardian.
Artifacts of the XVIII-XIX centuries are put up for auction, which are considered important cultural treasures among the Maori and must be returned to their homeland.
Indigenous New Zealand tribes claim that only a small part of the artifacts important to their peoples remained at their disposal after a wave of looting during the conquest of these lands by Europeans and the displacement of tribes due to the seizure of land by the British crown.
One of these artifacts, put up for auction at Sotheby's, is a club carved from a single piece of green stone and once presented by the leader of one of the local tribes to the British admiral on the condition that the club remains in the admiral's family.