The Mexico Government reported on Monday of the restitution of 915 cultural goods belonging to the country’s heritage, which were recovered from the United States through diplomatic efforts and cooperation with foreign institutions.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE) and Culture, through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), reported in a joint statement that the official delivery was fulfilled on March 3.
Among the returned goods, the delivery of 828 pre -Hispanic pieces by Colgate University, in Hamilton, New York, as well as the restitution of an Olmeca anthropomorphic figure, prepared between 900 and 400 BC in central Mexico.
The recovery of these objects is part of a national strategy for the protection of cultural heritage and the fight against illicit traffic of archaeological goods.
Recovery and authenticity of goods
The delivery of these furniture archaeological monuments was chaired by María José Buerba Romero Valdés, director for the restitution of the cultural heritage of the SRE, and Alejandro Bautista Valdespino, Deputy Director of Registration of Archaeological Monuments Furniture of the INAH.
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According to Buerba, the recovery of these assets was achieved thanks to the coordinated work between the Mexico Embassy in Washington, and the general consulates in Los Angeles and New York.
Bautista explained that the objects were subjected to analysis by INAH specialists, who confirmed their authenticity through physical inspections and iconographic studies.
He pointed out that these assets are material testimony of the diverse cultures that inhabited the Mexican territory before the arrival of the Spaniards.
Pieces of high historical value
Recovered objects cover a period of 3,000 years, from the formative (1500 BC) to the late postclassic (16th century).
Its origin is diverse, including regions such as the West of Mexico, El Bajío, the Gulf Coast, the Central Altiplano, Oaxaca and the Mayan area of the Mexican Southeast.
Among the most outstanding pieces is an Olmeca anthropomorphic figure, modeled in mud, which represents a male character in the sedentant position, with the cross legs and a hand holding the knee.
The sculpture, 12 centimeters long and 8 centimeters wide, has cranial deformation and red pigmentation traces, typical characteristics of Olmeca art.
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His image appeared in the work The Art of Ancient Mexico (1954), as part of a private collection without more origin.
In addition, the heritage includes an Olmeca style yoke (1000-400 BC), made of metamorphic rock by abrasion wear, and a Teotihuacan mask dated between 100 and 600 AD years
Vasijas, anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines were also recovered, as well as objects of the Mexican pre -Hispanic cultures Maya, Tolteca and Teotihuacana.
The pieces are already under the protection of the INAH for analysis, conservation and future exhibition.
During the administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico implemented a series of legal actions and strategies in order to promote the restitution of Mexican cultural heritage that is illegally located abroad, thanks to the joint effort of the Secretariats of Foreign and Culture Relations.
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At the global level, Mexico’s embassies and consulates recovered about 14,000 cultural pieces during the López Obrador government, which fought auctions in cities such as New York, Paris and Rome, in which stolen objects appear or that belong to the heritage of Mexico, in addition to intensifying demands before foreign governments to recover archaeological and artistic pieces.
With EFE information
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