Controversy over Latin American indigenous art auction
Despite diplomatic protests from a number of Latin American countries, an auction of pre-Columbian art went ahead in Germany this week. Here's a selection of artworks for sale — all legal, says the auction house.
More than 320 artifacts from seven Latin American countries
The controversial auction offered numerous statues, vessels and other pre-Columbian artifacts from countries including Mexico, Bolivia, Costa Rica and Panama. Prices started at €100 ($117) for a clay head from Peru believed to be more than 1,000 years old. The above photo shows a sculpture of a person wearing an Olmec jaguar mask. It dates to 1,000-800 BC.
Olmec jade mask
The most expensive piece in the auction was an exception, both from an artistic point of view and in terms of price. The face mask of an Olmec dignitary was entered in the auction with an estimated value of €100,000. The photo shows an example of an Olmec jade mask from the Mexican state of Colima, on display at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
It was legal, auction house says
The Munich auction house Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger said in a statement it has proof that all objects, some of which are more than 2,000 years old, are in Germany legally. The photo shows a female figurine from Tlatilco, Mexico that is dated to 1,200-900 BC.
Ambassadors demand respect
Ambassadors from several Latin American countries protested against the auction. "These pre-Columbian pieces were made by the ancestors of our indigenous peoples, and we need and demand the respect that these peoples deserve," Peruvian Ambassador Elmer Schialer Salcedo told a press conference in Berlin. The above photo shows a female figurine from Tlatilco, Mexico and is dated 1,200-900 BC.
"Historical importance to humanity"
"These pieces were most likely taken illegally from the countries of origin," Mexican Ambassador Francisco Quiroga said, arguing that the artifacts "are not only the cultural heritage of indigenous peoples, but also of historical importance to humanity." The artwork in the photo is a two-headed female figure from Tlatilco, Mexico that dates from 1,200-900 BC.
Part of the countries' "social identity"
The ambassadors urged citizens to put pressure on institutions and companies to return the artifacts regarded as being of great importance to their countries. They are "an inseparable part of their cultural and social identity," the Latin American ambassadors said. The photo shows a clay statuette from Tlatilco in Mexico that dates from 1,200-900 BC.
No comment from auction house
Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger auction house did not give details on how many objects went for sale, and how much they fetched at the Tuesday, Sept. 21 auction, which included the figurine of a child from the Olmec culture that dates back to 1,400-1,200 BC.
Huehueteotl figurine returned to Mexico
Sometimes pre-Columbian art easily finds its way back to its country of origin. In May 2021, Germany returned to Mexico and Guatemala several art objects found in a private basement. One of them was the above clay figure with a candlestick, probably 1,500 years old, of Huehueteotl, the fire god of Teotihuacan.