The Venduehuis in The Hague has decided to stop the ongoing auction of the human remains after institutions from distant Vanuatu objected.
Until Tuesday, contenders could still bid on the four ancestor skulls, which originally come from the archipelago east of Australia. However, in an email, the national museum of Vanuatu said it was displeased with the planned auction. The artistic skulls have a sacred status on the islands because they are the resting places of ancestors. The trade in (and display of) the skulls is therefore strictly prohibited by local law.
The auction house responded within 48 hours. The information about the skulls has now been removed from the website. The Venduehuis also says it wants to mediate between the seller of the skulls and the authorities at Vanuatu, to see if they can reach an agreement for a return to the islands.
It was the Dutch historian Jos van Beurden who tipped the authorities on Vanuatu about the upcoming auction. According to him, the human remains should not have been offered at all. “I am opposed to the trade in human remains, whether they come from colonial territories or have been excavated on battlefields in Europe. It is literally ‘inhuman’ and testifies to deep contempt for the deceased and their descendants.”
Van Beurden therefore believes that there should be a general ban on the sale of bones and skulls.
