Maori head remains in France
The French museum only wanted to do what was right: It offered to return a preserved, tattooed Maori head to New Zealand, an attempt to restore dignity to human remains that were long put on display as an exotic curiosity.
Instead, authorities in the Normandy city of Rouen got a scolding from the culture minister for not checking with national authorities first.
A Rouen administrative court ruled Wednesday that, pending a decision later this year, the Maori head at the natural history museum in Rouen must remain in France.
Olivier Henrard, legal advisor for the Culture Ministry, stressed that France wasn’t in principle opposed to the return of human remains.
But the ministry worried that Rouen’s act would set a precedent for unilateral decisions.
“Today it’s a Maori head, but tomorrow it could be a mummy in the Louvre,” Henrard said.
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