La Jornada: Auction of pre-Hispanic art in the US hopes to raise at least 9 million pesos

The auction Ethnographic, American Indian, pre-Columbian and tribal art, which will take place in the United States on June 17, includes in its catalog 121 lots of archaeological goods from cultures settled in Mexico. The Heritage Auctions company estimates that its sale will raise at least 500 thousand dollars (around 9 million pesos).

The bid lists 547 lots, with pieces originating from Mayan, Teotihuacan, Mezcala, Olmec, Mexica, Chontal, and Sultepec, Veracruz, Colima, Jalisco, Nayarit and Xochipala cultures, settled in the territory of what is now Mexico. It includes objects from other nations in Latin America, Africa and the United States.

This sale will be held in the city of Dallas, Texas, the venue with the most matches of the 2026 Soccer World Cup, with a total of nine matches, including one in the semifinals.

Just under half of the pieces of Mexican cultural heritage offered come from the artistic collection of the Vilček Foundation, based in New York. The organization still displays a good part of the auctioned objects on its website.

The 10 Mexican creations with the highest sales estimates come from this entity founded in 2000 by Jan and Marica Vilcek, whose purpose is “to recognize the contributions of immigrants in the arts, culture and sciences in the United States.” Last March its co-founder, Marica Vilcek, passed away.

Leading the list, with an estimated $40,000 (almost 700,000 pesos), is the titled Mayan Stone Mask of the Sun God. It is a sculpture by K’inich Ajaw, which shows an effigy “with a strong presence and a singular character,” related to the sacred power and materialization “of the energy that sustained life, government, and the cyclical order of the world,” according to the auctioneer.

The second with the highest estimate (30 thousand dollars or around 524 thousand pesos) is the so-called large mask of Teotihuacan, dated between the years 250 and 600. “It was probably attached to a funerary bundle, effigy or other ritual support, instead of being used directly,” describes Heritage Auctions.

The highly detailed Aztec Figure, dated between 1200 and 1500, is offered with the same valuation. It shows a subject carved in gray volcanic stone, with his legs crossed and his hands resting on his knees, with his genitals visible.

The signature said that it represents rank, authority and sacred presence, “not as a casual portrait, but as a figure created to embody elite status within ritual or ceremonial life,” and could have been placed in temples or been an architectural ornament or sculpture placed in spaces where political and sacred authority were inseparable.

The described life-size Aztec head (1400-1521) is valued at 25 thousand dollars (437 thousand pesos). It was sculpted in black basalt and presents a face with youthful features. It preserves shell inlays in the eyes, one of them partially preserved. It is also assumed that the 23-centimeter piece was placed in temples or ceremonial environments.

Appraised at 20 thousand dollars (350 thousand pesos), a Teotihuacan mask from the 3rd and 4th centuries is recorded; It is a face in which deep perforated holes can be seen in the corners of the mouth, where it is assumed that there were fangs related to the transformation into a jaguar, an animal associated with supernatural power, fertility and the liminal realm between human and spiritual forces.

According to the auction house’s description, it unusually brings together the sculptural tradition of Teotihuacan with features that “reflect a clear inheritance of earlier Olmec forms that continued to circulate in the Valley of Mexico.”

A representation of Quetzalcoatl is among the leaders for its price. The 25-centimeter sculpture shows a creator deity associated with government, priests, knowledge and the union of earthly and heavenly forces. It is expected to raise at least 15 thousand dollars (262 thousand pesos) for it. Same value as the monumental Mask of Teotihuacan (between the years 250-600).

According to their estimated price –12 thousand each–, the following pieces listed are: Danzante de Colima, Mayan Stone Yugo and Teotihuacan Mask. The rest of the pieces have prices ranging from 10 thousand to 400 dollars (174 thousand to 7 thousand pesos).