Paris, 5 December 2012
On Monday afternoon, 3 December 2012 at 2pm the Castor Hara Society in Paris dispersed the collection of Genevan Bendicht Rudolf Wagner with 92% of 262 lots sold. The collection consisted of pre-Columbian pieces, the majority of which came from Peru, especially from the Chavin civilisation. Other pieces came from Colombia and other Latin American countries.
The star lot happened to be the decorative plate of a golden pectoral of a Shaman, acquired for €575,000 by a French collector. The sale exceeded all expectations since the object had been estimated between €300,000 and €500,000. The piece is a treasure. According to the metal object specialist, Robert Sonin, it is the heaviest Chavin gold piece presently known.
On the other hand, the international market bought the lot appearing on the catalogue’s cover for €40,000, a polychrome terracotta potion vase. Among the textile pieces, a poncho was quickly bought for €16,900 (estimated between €7,000 and €10,000).
Despite good sales results, according to Peruvian magazine Ilustracion Peruana Caretas, behind the auction relies something that worries the Peruvian authorities as to know how and how many pieces did the collector manage to obtain from the country over the years. The collected works would have been acquainted between the 1950s and the 1970s and although an agreement with the UNESCO specifies the prohibition of exporting and marketing cultural goods, Bendicht Wagner printed a luxurious 120-page catalogue for the auction. Additionally, according to the General Law of the Cultural Heritage of the Nation (No. 28296), every holder of such pieces must be registered at the INC. Any attempt to draw the heritage out of the country without authorisation or respective certification may be punishable by a fine, impound or confiscation. The actions that Peruvian authorities will undertake are still unknown.