Mexico City, 25 March 2011
Since Wednesday, the Mexican government has been insisting that the Maya statue sold at the Drouot auction for a record 4M$ is not authentic. The auction house and its experts maintain that the statue is the genuine article and accuse Mexico of trying to prevent the legal sale of Prehispanic objects.
Much is at stake in this conflict and it is not only the unidentified buyer who risks losing a great deal. Putting this legal market at risk could lead to pieces being sold on the unregulated black market with no control over quality, authenticity and provenance.
A 1972 Mexican Law stipulates a limit on private collections of antiquities. The collectors were allowed to keep the pieces already in their possession, which the government recorded. Any antique object that is now found is seen as the national property of Mexico. It is illegal to export Prehispanic objects.