Paper short abstract:

Throwing Spears at http://www.spearchuckasart.com explores the tenuous relationships between the national and international auction house, the auction website, the dealer/the vendor and the indigenous museum curator. They interact in contested, tense and often strange and uncertain ways.

Paper long abstract:

Throwing Spears at http://www.spearchuckasart.com explores the difficult and tenuous relationships the indigenous museum curator has between the national and international auction house, the auction website, and the dealer acting for the vendor. They often interact in contested, tense, in strange and uncertain ways. This paper investigates a range of difficulties experienced in determining ways through the convoluted nature of relationships had over indigenous cultural matarial, particularly taonga Mäori at auction both nationally and internationally and for the way taonga or other Pacific material may be inappropriately treated by dealers lacking greater understanding or insight into indigenous cultures and their social realities.