Paris /
The sale “Quetzalcoatl, feathered snake”, a set of 40 pre-Hispanic fish from European private hands, raised a total of $ 3 million (60 million pesos), that despite protests in Mexico to stop the auction. Which is “the largest sum for a pre-Columbian art auction in Christie’s in Paris,” according to the house.
The figure of Cihuateotl, 87 cm and dated 600-1000 d. C, sold below the estimated price (between $ 710,000 and $ 1 million). The goddess is depicted sitting, with remnants of intense white and red pigment.
A mask attributed to the Teotihuacan culture dating from 450-650 AD was also auctioned. C. for $ 526,000 800. It was part of the personal collection of Pedra Matisse, the son of the famous painter Henri Matisse, who bought it in 1938 and kept it for more than 50 years, according to the catalog. It was estimated at between $ 420,000 and $ 640,000.
Mexico had asked to stop the sale of the pieces, assuring that among them are three “fake” objects, including this mask.
The other two allegedly fake pieces are a mask and a carved frog, corresponding to two handicrafts from Xochilapa, in Guerrero (south), which were awarded for $ 72,000 and $ 48,000 respectively).
INAH filed a complaint to stop the auction and recover the pieces
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) of Mexico indicated on February 3 that it had filed a complaint with the Mexican prosecutor’s office to take legal action against the marketing of these objects, while requesting actions from the chancellery. diplomatic to retrieve them.
For his part, Christie’s asserted that the objects were “legitimately sold under a transparent and lawful public sale procedure,” adding that in no case would he propose a work. of art “if there are doubts as to its authenticity and provenance.”
In denouncing the sale, the director of the INAH, Diego Prieto, stated that the archaeological assets of Mexico “are the property of the nation, inalienable, imprescriptible and unencumberable, and therefore are outside any act of trade “.
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