Auction of three archaeological pieces from Mexico suspended in Belgium

The auction in Belgium of three archaeological pieces identified as Mexican heritage was suspended at the request of the Mexican embassy in Brussels, the Foreign Ministry and the Secretariat of Culture reported on Tuesday.

The pieces that would be sold were zoomorphic figures made in modeled clay from the state of Colima (west).

The “Carlo Bonte Auction house decided to withdraw from the auction (...) the three pieces it intended to sell and that were identified as Mexico's property,” said the joint statement issued by both agencies.

The Belgian authorities also warned that the parts cannot be marketed until their owners present the corresponding export certificates.

According to Mexican law, any archaeological piece is considered a national heritage and its commercialization is prohibited.

The Mexican government is actively campaigning in Europe and the United States to identify archaeological pieces that are marketed by different galleries.

In recent months, Mexico managed to stop an auction in Italy, while in February two Dutch men returned 17 archaeological pieces that had been in their possession for 30 years to the Mexican embassy.

Last week, the auction of a rock figure that appeared in the catalogue of an Austrian firm was stopped.

However, Mexico's efforts were not enough to stop, on January 28, the auction of some 30 pieces at the French gallery Millon.

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador calls the auctions of archaeological pieces “immoral” and calls for them to be banned worldwide.

He has also criticized Austria, which for centuries has had an Aztec plume (crown of feathers) believed to have belonged to the Aztec emperor Moctezuma (1502-1520) and which other Mexican governments have sought to recover or, at least, bring to the country for exhibition.

The Mexican government says that some 6,000 archaeological pieces that were illegally removed from the country have been recovered.

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