Mexico demands Sotheby's halt sale of two pre-Columbian artefacts
Claudia Curiel de Icaza, Mexico's culture secretary, has requested that Sotheby's New York remove two pre-Columbian artifacts from its auction scheduled for June 18, asserting they represent national cultural heritage. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has verified their protected status. Both items are associated with dealer Everett Rassiga, notorious for dealing in looted antiquities. One artifact is a Teotihuacán stone mask (c. AD450-650, estimated at $30,000-$50,000), which was sold in 1968 and displayed at the Isaac Delgado Museum. The other is a Veracruz ceramic figure (c. AD550-950, estimated at $5,000-$7,000), once owned by Robert and Marianne Huber. Sotheby's reported they found no grounds for the claim after examining the provenance. INAH was unavailable for comment.
Key facts
- Mexico's culture secretary Claudia Curiel de Icaza urged Sotheby's to withdraw two pre-Columbian artefacts from its June 18 sale.
- INAH determined the artefacts are part of Mexico's cultural heritage.
- Both artefacts are linked to dealer Everett Rassiga, scrutinized for trafficking looted antiquities.
- One artefact is a Teotihuacán stone mask (c. AD450-650) estimated at $30,000-$50,000.
- The mask was sold by Rassiga in 1968, exhibited at the Isaac Delgado Museum, and passed through multiple collectors.
- The second artefact is a Veracruz ceramic figure (c. AD550-950) estimated at $5,000-$7,000.
- The figure was acquired by Robert and Marianne Huber, exhibited at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 1988, and later owned by Ancient Art of the New World.
- Mexico has previously challenged Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, and Millon over pre-Columbian sales with limited success.
Entities
Institutions
- Sotheby's
- National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)
- Isaac Delgado Museum (New Orleans Museum of Art)
- Parke-Bernet Galleries
- British Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Indianapolis Museum of Art
- Ancient Art of the New World
- Christie's
- Bonhams
- Millon
- UNESCO
- Interpol
Locations
- Mexico
- New York
- Albuquerque
- New Mexico
- Veracruz
- Teotihuacán
- New Orleans
- London
- Chicago
- Paris