The United States gives Mexico a colonial sculpture stolen 20 years ago

Mexico City, August 10 (EFE). – A representation of San Antonio de Padua, stolen in 2002 from the Archdiocese of Santiago Apostol, in the municipality of Guipec, in the state of Morelos, central Mexico, was handed over to Mexico by the United States government, reported this Wednesday by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

In a statement, INAH said it is a multicolored and galley statue, 1.1 meters high, 50 centimeters wide and 60 centimeters deep, with elements characteristic of being made in the 17th century, representing San Antonio de Padua.

She also has a hair treatment, embodiment, and is custom engraved in wood, and has gold applications on a dark background, which helps accentuate her floral and botanical designs.

Among the iconic elements of the work, the notched circle of color on the crown of the engraving, usually with dye or rope with tassels at the ends, is textured and embossed on clothing; In his left hand he holds a Bible, and wears shoes, representing the devotion he enjoys in the religious flock.

With regard to their state of preservation, they show a certain degree of deterioration, although structurally stable. Note, for example, the loss of the phalanx of the ring finger of the right hand. It represents the loss of the metallic aura she carried on her crown.

INAH noted that the retrieved piece will undergo procedures for cleaning, consolidating, and removing dirt and non-work related items. Thereafter, efforts will be made to reintegrate her into her community, in Giotbec, Morelos.

The foundation reports that after 20 years of research and thanks to cooperation between the Ministers of Foreign Relations (SRE) and the Culture of Mexico, through INAH, as well as the Office of the Attorney General (FGR), in cooperation with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI in English), the statue was recovered and brought back home. .

The piece arrived in Mexico City from Dallas, Texas, to be handed over by FBI representatives at the United States Embassy in the country, to the FGR authorities, who in turn handed over the cultural assets to representatives of the National Coordination for Cultural Preservation (CNPCC) from INAH.

Mexico’s Minister of Culture, Alejandra Frausto, highlighted joint efforts to restore cultural heritage found outside the country illegally and considered repatriation a “real act of cultural diplomacy”.

For his part, US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar recognized the work of the Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Culture as “essential for the future” and stressed that it was time to celebrate the good work of all and part of the President of the Republic. The United States, Joe Biden delivered the piece to Mexico. EFE

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