The sale of a ceremonial cup, fashioned out of a human skull, at auction has been stopped.
The auction was due to take place in Albany in Western Australia at the Snowball Auction house, but the item was pulled due to questions about its origin.
Investigations aboout where the item came from are to be carried out, but the auction house did not rule out the prospect of it being re-listed at a later date.
Snowball Auction house runs auctions every Friday and listed the skull for sale. It was described as a “rare, antique European human skull ceremonial cup with white metal and brass trim".
A senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Sydney, Dr Fiona Gill, told The Guardian that the sale of a human skull was unethical and illegal in Australia.
Dr Gill added: “I think that it’s not the right thing to do. I mean, there is a general rule that it’s illegal to sell or to give human remains to another person.”
The university professor referred to sections 29 and 30 of the Western Australian Human Tissue and Transplant Act 1982 which states that the sale and advertising of human remains and tissue is illegal.
Photographs of the item show it to have an unusual shape although it is not instantly recognisable as a human skull.
A spokesperson for the auction house said that they were in talks with authorities about the sale. They added that the item was from a “reputable” collector’s estate and said that they were “pretty sure” the item was originally from Europe.
Western Australia’s police force were initially called to the auction house by a customer who was browsing the catalogue when she discovered the cup made from a human skull.
Snowball Auction has said that if the item is found to have indigenous origin then they would work to make sure that it was stored appropriately, instead of sold.
