Mexican authorities have condemned the Dutch auction house De Zwaan for its upcoming sale of pre-Columbian objects which, according to the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), are protected by the Mexican federal law.
De Zwaan, Amsterdam’s oldest auction house specializing in art, antiques and design, is set to sell a collection of pre columbian art put together by a deceased German couple as part of an auction this week.
Specialists have identified 30 objects from the Maya, Olmec, Chupícuaro and Remojadas cultures that should be protected under Mexico’s cultural heritage laws, INAH said. A complaint has been filed with the Attorney General of the Republic of Mexico (FGR) and Interpol has been notified, INAH said in A declaration. Mexican Culture Secretary Alejandra Frausto Guerrero also sent a letter to De Zwaan expressing her disapproval of the auction on behalf of the country.
Most of the items in the sale were purchased from a Munich gallery in the 1970s and 1980s, according to De Zwaan’s website (the auction house did not immediately return a request for comment). De Zwaan identified some of the artifacts as being from Mexico, including an Olmec green jadeite stone mask, although it is not immediately clear which artifacts are disputed by Mexico. Another private collection of pre-Columbian objects, mostly from Peru and Colombia, will also be auctioned on Wednesday May 10 at De Zwaan.
Last year the Netherlands rendered 223 pre-Columbian artifacts in Mexico through government cooperation. Over the past five years, the administration of Mexican President Andres López Obrador has stepped up efforts to repatriate Mexican artifacts. Thousands of objects have been returned to the country since López Obrador took office in 2018. In March, INAH and the Ministry of Culture denounced a Parisian auction house for the sale of pre-Columbian works of art, the authorities declared to be protected by Mexican law.
