Two of the archaeological pieces from Mexico voluntarily delivered by German citizens. GOVERNMENT OF MEXICO
German citizens have voluntarily delivered a total of 34 archaeological pieces to the Mexican Embassy in Berlin.
The Mexican Government has reported in a statement that they are complete figures and anthropomorphic fragments made of clay, bowls, seals and vessels, and an effigy-type torso.
These goods were made by the cultures of the Gulf of Mexico Coast, the Central Highlands, the West and the Mayan area.
The Secretary of Culture, Alejandra Frausto Guerrero, has celebrated the collaboration between both countries for the return of these figures that are incorporated into 5,464 pieces recovered in other countries.
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Among the archaeological pieces returned by Germany, anthropomorphic figures made of clay, bowls and vessels, stamps and fragments of figurines stand out. There is also an anthropomorphic mask made of metamorphic rock, Olmec style, from the Mesoamerican Preclassic period (1200-600 BC). Two Totonac-style heads from the Mesoamerican Classic period (250–900 AD) and a clay bowl made by the Mayan culture towards the Postclassic (1000–1521 AD) have also been returned.
Mexican authorities celebrated the return of the country's archaeological heritage in a virtual meeting. In it, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Marcelo Ebrad, thanked the German citizens for their willingness to "return these pieces to the Government of Mexico", and stressed that this gesture reveals a "change in the prevailing culture" regarding the possession of archaeological pieces. "It is encouraging and is also the result of the work that has been done by various countries, intellectuals and thinkers, who have insisted on this issue," he pointed out.
Mexico undertook a crusade to recover the historical heritage found in private collections around the world before they are auctioned. The most recent antecedent is the auction of more than 20 pre-Hispanic pieces two months ago in New York. The Sotheby's house offered objects from the Olmec or Mayan cultures, among others, that Mexican specialists consider "archaeological monuments." Before, some 33 pieces of pre-Hispanic art were auctioned in Paris. In this case, the Mexican Government was not able to stop the event either, despite the claims and complaints filed. That auction exceeded Christie's expectations by raising three million dollars (2.53 million euros, 61 million pesos). Among the figures sold were three that the INAH considers false. But not all cases have gone unsolved.The Xoc bas-relief found in Paris in 2015, at an auction by the firm Binoche et Giquello, was returned to Mexico two years later.
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