A Belgian auction house sparks widespread criticism after it placed three human skulls from the colonial era up for sale.
ADVERTISEMENTThree human skulls from the colonial era which were put on sale by the Vanderkindere Auction House in Brussels have sparked widespread criticism.
A surprising announcement on the Drouot website caused a big controversy on social media networks to the point that Vanderkindere withdrew the three lots from sale.
The auction house now intends to return them to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The collective "Memorial Colony" intends to file a complaint.
Geneviève Kaninda, the coordinator of the Collective at Colonial Memory says, "it is simply a scandalous sale, it is a sale of the skulls of victims of colonisation... This auction is a bit like killing them a second time in fact."
"Normally the penal code forbids the concealment of a corpse, which is why this auction is of great concern to us, and I think that a clear answer is needed in relation to a legal framework for all the remains of these people from the colonial period who are on Belgian soil," she adds.
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