La Jornada: German auction house would obtain more than 800 thousand euros from the sale of archaeological goods from Mexico

The German auction house Zemanek-Münster will hold a sale on April 25 that includes archaeological goods from Mexico, with quotes close to the highest prices paid for similar objects in recent years. It brings together 39 lots for which the firm hopes to raise 826,300 euros (almost 17 million pesos).

With only six of the most expensive pieces in the auction of a “private collection of Munich”, which will be held in the city of Würzburg, 570 thousand euros (almost 12 million pesos) would be raised.

The most sought after in Auction 106 of the German company is the so-called Male Figure with Trophy Head (250-900 AD), which, converted to pesos, would reach a value of just over 4 million.

Described as from the Mayan culture with dimensions of 131 by 42 centimeters, the sculpture covered in stucco and colorful remains in red, green and blue, has decorative elements such as earlobes and a solid pectoral. The German firm assumes that it was part of the decoration of an architectural facade.

Another piece stands out, lot 21: a Mayan relief that according to Zemanek-Münster comes from Bonampak and for which he expects to receive 160 thousand euros (about 3 million 286 thousand pesos).

Regarding this Mayan creation, the company describes on its website: “well preserved and frequently published. It is currently considered an important work of reference and has been part of Mayan archaeological and epigraphic research since 1973” (according to the UNESCO Convention against trafficking in cultural property, it has been prohibited to export these pieces since 1970).

The auctioneer adds: “We are pleased to present an exceptional collection of advanced Mesoamerican and South American civilizations from an art collection in Munich. Assembled over decades with great expertise and completed in the 1990s, it brings together outstanding works from various regions and periods.”

Of the total of 90 works (among which are from Costa Rica, Peru, Argentina, Panama, Colombia and Guatemala), it is highlighted that “their exceptional quality and meticulous conservation are already considered by experts to be of great cultural and historical importance. Their debut on the art market will probably increase interest considerably.”

Howard Nowes, an expert at the company, notes that “formed decades ago, the collection has been off the market for more than 30 years, which means that these pieces have not undergone numerous restorations nor have they been overexploited or overpublished; they are genuinely new opportunities.” And he shows his fascination, for example, for “a Colima dog with character and presence, a model of a Mezcala temple coveted by modernists, a Mayan cylinder with inscriptions that functions as a ceramic codex (or) a monumental Zapotec urn that once presided over a sanctuary: each of these works can become the centerpiece of a collection or the starting point of a new one.”

In the third place, due to its highest price (60 thousand euros), there is a Mayan figurative urn, dated between the years 300 to 900. The pigmented ceramic has a height of 60 centimeters and represents a deity or dignitary, according to its description.

In this bid, for each of the lots 17, 24 and 27 it is expected to receive 50 thousand euros (just over a million pesos). These are the goods named Jaguar Throne (Maya), face/effigy (Teotihuacan) and closed yoke (Veracruz).

The rest of the objects attributed to cultures such as the Mezcala, Xochipala, Chontal, Olmec, Mexica and Mayan, or from Veracruz, Gulf Coast and Jalisco, have estimates ranging from 800 to 35 thousand euros.