Mexico City, Mexico — Pieces of Mexican history that returned to the country from a private New York collector are now on exhibit. The pieces, which were returned in 2023, can be viewed at the Templo Mayor Museum in Mexico City.
The sculptures of a star warrior and a macehual, repatriated from New York, were added to the public exhibition earlier this week, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) reported.
Alejandro Bautista Valdespino, the Deputy Director of the Registry of Movable Archaeological Monuments of the INAH, stated that the two Mexica-style sculptures now exhibited are part of a lot of 14 pre-Hispanic pieces that, in November 2023, a private collector handed over to the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York.
The restored objects, he added, represent styles from different cultures, the oldest belonging to the Olmec civilization centuries before our era, in the Early Preclassic, up to the Mexica sculptures dating from the 15th century.
Susan Bridenstine, Counselor for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico, highlighted the cooperation between the two governments which facilitated the recent repatriation.
They consists of Monument 9 from Chalcatzingo, a 2,500-year-old relief as well as two manuscripts signed by Hernán Cortés.
“These recoveries demonstrate a profound respect for Mexico’s history and identity, and reinforce the shared values that unite our nations.”
The national coordinators of Legal Affairs and Museums and Exhibitions of the INAH, Enrique Álvarez Tostado and Juan Manuel Garibay López, respectively, considered that the return of said archaeological monuments, regardless of their size, reflects an act of restitution of historical memory for the places and communities from which they were taken.
The director of the Templo Mayor Museum (MTM), Patricia Ledesma Bouchan, highlighted that the basalt piece (1.64 m high by 57 cm wide, and weighing half a ton) represents a star warrior, brother of the goddess Coyolxauhqui.
These sculptures (of which seven have been found at the Templo Mayor) were considered guardians of sacred spaces and were usually displayed in pairs. A green stone, symbolizing their heart, was placed in the circular perforation on their chest.
The archaeologist explained that the artistic style of the Late Postclassic period (1325-1521 AD) was shared by other locations, such as Texcoco, Tacuba and the southern part of the Valley of Mexico, so it is likely that this sculpture and that of the macehual,
The opening event of the exhibition was also presided over by the director of Contentious Affairs of the INAH, Eduardo García Torres.
