A collection of 70 masks sacred to a native American tribe in Arizona has been sold at an auction in Paris for more than $US 1 million after a French judge dismissed a legal challenge to halt the sale.
Lawyers for the Hopi tribe had asked for the auction to be cancelled on the grounds that the masks had been stolen.
But the auctioneers contended the masks were legally acquired.
Chairman of the Hopi tribe Le Roy Shingoitewa says the sale will have spiritual consequences for the buyers.
