The Mexican government has published a statement calling on Sotheby’s in New York to withdraw two pre-Columbian artefacts from its Art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas sale being held Thursday (18 June).
Mexico’s secretary of culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, wrote on social media that the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) had analysed the works and determined that they are “part of the cultural heritage of the nation”. Curiel de Icaza said “necessary actions” were already taken to demand their withdrawal from the sale and restitution to Mexico, but she did not specify what those actions entailed.
Curiel de Icaza added: “We reaffirm our commitment to the recovery and protection of cultural assets that belong to our country. No commercial interest can be above the obligation to preserve the heritage that accounts for our history and cultural diversity.”
The artefacts both have ties to the dealer Everett Rassiga, who specialised in pre-Columbian art and was widely scrutinised for his involvement in the trafficking of looted antiquities. One of the works is a Teotihuacán stone mask (around AD450-A650), with an estimate of $30,000 to $50,000, which Rassiga sold to a New York collector in 1968. That same year, it was featured in an exhibition of ancient and modern Latin American art at the Isaac Delgado Museum (now the New Orleans Museum of Art).
The Teotihuacán mask has traded hands several times since then. It was sold at Parke-Bernet Galleries to the dealer André Emmerich, then acquired by the prominent collectors William B. Jaffe and Evelyn Annenberg Jaffe Hall in 1969, who bequeathed it to the present owner. The couple were avid collectors of pre-Columbian art and are listed in the provenance records of several lots in the upcoming Sotheby’s sale.
Veracruz Seated Figure in Ceremonial Attire (around AD550-950) Courtesy Sotheby's
The other artefact is a small ceramic figure wearing ceremonial regalia (around AD550-AD950), with an estimate of $5,000 to $7,000. It was first acquired from an unknown dealer in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Robert and Marianne Huber, whose collection of South and Central American art has trickled down to institutions like London’s British Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago. The figure has been widely exhibited, including in 1988 at the Indianapolis Museum of Art in an exhibition of pre-Columbian art from the collection of Wally and Brenda Zollman (who acquired the work in 1982).
Sometime between the 1980s and 90s, the ceramic figure, which comes from the south-central region of Veracruz, was acquired by Ancient Art of the New World in New York, a gallery that became heavily associated with Rassiga. Like Rassiga, the gallery is frequently cited in the provenance history of pre-Columbian artefacts in museum collections, auction catalogues and private collections.
The Mexican government has made efforts in recent years to challenge the sale of pre-Columbian artefacts abroad, including at auctions run by Christie’s and Bonhams. But these have rarely resulted in restitution, either due loopholes in restitution law or limited timeframes for proper negotiations. Auction houses typically only publish their catalogues around a month or two ahead of their sales.
"We apply rigorous due‑diligence standards to every object we offer at Sotheby's," a spokesperson for the auction house wrote in a statement emailed to The Art Newspaper. ”Having reviewed the provenance of these lots in detail and corresponded directly with Unesco, we find no basis for the claim."
INAH could not be reached for comment.
In a separate case dating to 2021, the Mexican government urged Sotheby’s to withdraw more than 20 pre-Columbian artefacts from another Art of Africa, Oceania and the Americas auction. INAH announced that it had reported the auction to Mexico’s attorney general, requested assistance from the foreign ministry and Interpol, and argued that the objects formed part of Mexico’s cultural heritage. However, the sale went ahead and Sotheby’s sold 24 pre-Columbian works for a total of around $750,000. A Maya stone effigy (around AD550-AD950) achieved the highest sale price at $352,800 (including fees).
The Mexican government has also repeatedly challenged the Paris auction house Millon, including in 2023 when it called for the withdrawal of 83 works in its pre-Columbian art sale. Earlier this year, Mexico’s cultural secretary published a similar statement on social media over Millon’s sale of 40 pre-Columbian artefacts.
