The Colombian Government welcomed 16 new pre-Columbian pieces that come from private collections in Switzerland and New Zealand, which had left the country illegally and were in the possession of two citizens who decided to return them.
The Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs of Colombia, Elizabeth Taylor Jaywas in charge of showing the boxes in which the pieces arrived and in statements to the press she highlighted that “recovery actions like this help to have greater knowledge about our communities and historical populations.”
“We Colombians have been robbed of our history,” said the vice minister, who also added that the New Zealand piece, a pot, was recovered thanks to an official from the Auckland consulate who brought it back in a protected manner.
The ceramic vessel must have been found, according to the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History (ICANH), “due to its technical characteristics such as decorations and small appliqués,” in the Alto Magdalena region, as clarified by Lorena Lemos, a professional at the Colombian Institute of Anthropology. and History (Icanh).
“Until the mid-1800s, the guaquería (as the searches carried out in tombs in search of valuable objects are known) was not illegal, so there are no records of the pieces that came out irregularly, so it is common for Today they can be found in museums or in the possession of citizens,” added the specialist.
The other 15 pre-Hispanic pieces were in Switzerland and were originally manufactured in the archaeological regions of the Quimbaya and the Muiscas, according to a preliminary verification by Icanh.
Among them are several gold tunjos and a Sinú nose ring, all pre-Columbian pieces that aim to enrich the understanding of the history and creativity of ancestral cultures.
Thus, those from Switzerland are 14 goldsmith pieces made of precious and semi-precious metals such as gold, silver and copper that the Muiscas of the eastern mountain range of the Andes used to throw into the lagoons and be in contact with their gods.
There is also a Quimbaya ceramic altarpiece that dates back to between the year 700 and 1500 and was intervened in the lower part “in an action that was not directed by professionals,” which “affects the heritage,” Lemos concluded.
The opening of the guacales was held at the San Carlos Palace, headquarters of the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the pieces will be available for viewing in the Casa Icanh reserve.
Since President Gustavo Petro came to power on August 7, 2022, the initiatives to repatriate assets of cultural interest have led to 640 pieces that have traveled back to Colombia, “a large number compared to the previous Government in which only 18 pieces were recovered,” concluded the vice minister.
Source: EFE. Photos: Foreign Ministry of Colombia
