Four Latin American nations have objected to an auction this weekend in Paris by Sotheby’s because they say some of the 300 items of pre-Columbian art to be sold were illegally exported.
But Sotheby’s said in a statement that it believes all of the works were legally obtained by the collectors and the sale Friday and Saturday will go forward.
Peru, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica have all objected to the auction, which features items from the private Barbier-Mueller collection. Peru has asked for the return of 67 objects, according to antiquities experts, while Mexico says 51 have suspect provenance and Guatemala has put claims on 13 items. It is not clear how many items Costa Rica has disputed. All four nations have cited cultural property laws in making their claims.
The Mexican complaint was earlier reported by the Associated Press.
In its statement, Sotheby’s said: “We have had dialogue with several nations and given careful consideration to their concerns about this sale, and we continue to welcome discussion regarding any new information on specific issues.
But, the statement continued: “Over the course of the past six months, Sotheby’s thoroughly researched the provenance of this collection and we are confident in offering these works for auction.
On its Website, Sotheby’s says the collection was started by Josef Mueller in 1920 and augmented by Mr. Mueller’s son-in-law, Jean-Paul Barbier-Mueller. Several items in the sale are valued at more than $2 million, but the bulk of the items have sale estimates between $10,000 to $50,000. The auction house estimates that the sale overall will bring in somewhere between $19 million and $24 million.
