Nigerian scholar calls for halt to auction of sacred Igbo artworks
Title: Nigerian scholar calls for halt to auction of sacred Igbo artworks
Author: Emmanuel Akinwotu
Media Outlet: The Guardian
Publish Date: June 21, 2020
“Chika Okeke-Agulu, a professor of art history at Princeton University, said the sale of the Igbo objects – called alusi or “sacred sculptures” – at Christie’s auction house later this month would “perpetuate the violence” of the conflict.
(…) “What they [auction houses] care about is their brand. The campaign is important because we are making it unavoidable that these items can’t be divorced from their dispossession. Christie’s and other companies have to reckon with that.”