War booty of 1847 will return to Mexico

A 39-piece war spoils, taken from Mexico during the United States Intervention in 1847, will return to the country after being recovered by the Consulate General of Mexico in New York. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) will be in charge of archiving and safeguarding the more than 30 Mesoamerican handicrafts and literary works.

Through a video, Jorge Islas López, Consul General of Mexico in New York reported: “There are Mesoamerican archaeological pieces and also two books that belong to the 17th and 18th century, which were once the spoils of war and that will finally return to the shelves of bookstores from which they should never have left.”

Islas explained that one of the books dates from 1637 and that, according to information included on the cover of it, it was in a building located in the first painting of Mexico City during the war of 1847. It is likely that it was kept in the library of the Palacio Nacional or in the current premises of the CDMX Government, as was the second text recovered, belonging to the 18th century.

Regarding the Mesoamerican pieces, the consul stressed that one of them is an Olmecoid figure, expected to date from 700 BC. It is a symmetrical unit made of granite, with details that demonstrate the great skill of Olmec craftsmen, such as the folds in the knees.

Other smaller objects that have been recovered by the Mexican government belong to the Gulf of Mexico area and that of the Altiplano, in the center of the country. They were also made by the Olmec people, at different times, and the material from which they are made is clay.

The loot was drawn during the US intervention war against Mexico, which took place between 1846 and 1848, and was initiated by the neighboring country to expand its territory through the annexation of several states that until that time were Mexican. Among the places where US troops passed are the border area and the Valley of Mexico.

The official said: “They are pieces that will return today to Mexico City, they will finally be managed and protected by the National Institute of Anthropology and History. We are very happy from the Consulate General of Mexico in New York to make the announcement that these pieces are finally returning to Mexico.”

Marcelo Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, retweeted the news. It is worth mentioning that, in March of this year, the official announced the recovery of 19 cultural assets in New York State, which were collectors or were to be auctioned. The objects recovered on that occasion were an Olmec style mask, a post-classic clay urn, 16th century manuscripts and a New Spain book.

The pieces recovered in the United States so far this year add up to more than 5,700 pieces that the Mexican government has managed to repatriate during the first three years of Andrés Manuel López Obrador's term of office. One of the places where pre-Hispanic crafts and artifacts have been found the most is the European continent, which is why Mexico recently called the houses of auction in Europe stop its sale out of ethics and respect.

KEEP READING