U.S. Bill on Stolen Art Under Fire : Mexicans Say Proposed Measure Would ‘Protect Thieves’

A measure being considered in the U.S. Senate would limit the time in which foreign countries could sue U.S. collectors to recover stolen art objects, and it is attracting heated criticism here.

The proposal raises hackles, in part, because it follows closely upon a major robbery of valuable antiquities from Mexico City’s National Museum of Anthropology. Mexican archeological experts and government officials say that such a law would encourage theft by making the market for ancient artifacts even more attractive than it already is.

“It will certainly make it difficult for Mexico to recover archeological pieces that are taken to the U.S.,” said Joaquin Garcia, director of the pre-Columbian relics department of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. The Institute oversees Mexico’s vast store of pre-Columbian and colonial treasures.

‘Cultural Rodents’

“Look, this is a law to protect thieves,” said Pedro Ramirez, the head of a civic group called Friends of the Museum, which supports the Museum of Anthropology. “I don’t believe that the United States wants to be known as a country that harbors cultural rodents.” Ramirez, an architect, designed the Museum of Anthropology.

The Ministry of Foreign Relations has told its embassy in Washington to express the government’s “grave preoccupation” with the proposed legislation and other measures under consideration that would loosen the rules for buying historical objects.

The Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Charles McC. Mathias (R-Md.), would impose three conditional time limits on legal actions brought for the purpose of recovering stolen relics:

--Museums would be protected against foreign lawsuits after they had displayed and publicized an acquired art piece for two years.

--Private collectors would be protected after five years if they had publicized their acquisition of the item for three years.

--Anyone would be free from lawsuits after 10 years, regardless of whether the acquisition had been made public or the item had been put on display.

Defend Bill

Aides in Mathias’ Washington office defended the proposal as a step to regularize the purchase and ownership of artwork and archeological relics.

Ann Pincus, speaking on behalf of the senator, said the law “would reduce the uncertainty inherent in ownership of art and cultural property.” She pointed out that several states have passed conflicting laws dealing with legal ownership of art from abroad and that this measure would bring order to a chaotic situation.

Moreover, she said, if a piece is proved to be stolen, a country could still claim it through the U.S. Customs Service, regardless of the statute of limitation.

Mathias’ office seemed surprised by the controversy raised by his proposal. Officials from Peru have expressed outrage, and several U.S. archeological experts have voiced opposition to the bill, Pincus said.

“This is about the most controversial thing we’ve done in a long time,” she said.

1970 Treaty

The bill is being studied by a Senate subcommittee on patents, copyrights and trade marks. In the view of Mexican officials, the bill violates the spirit if not the letter of a 1970 treaty between Mexico and the United States, regardless of the bill’s intent. The treaty commits both countries to the recovery of stolen relics.

“I don’t see how the United States can keep to its end of the treaty if this bill becomes law,” Garcia said.

Pre-Columbian objects have been taken abroad almost continually since the Spanish discovery of Mexico. Officials of the Foreign Ministry say that not only should recently stolen articles be reclaimed but also pieces taken earlier--including valuable pieces sent to Austria in the 19th Century by the Hapsburg Emperor Maximilian.

According to Mexican law, it is illegal to export any item manufactured before the 16th-Century Spanish colonization of Mexico. Certain items produced from the 16th Century until the turn of the 20th Century are also barred from export, except by decree of the president.

Theft Broadly Defined

Any pre-Columbian artwork taken out of Mexico is considered stolen, even if it is purchased in Mexico from someone who legally owns it.

This kind of blanket prohibition is the target of another bill under consideration by the Senate. Sponsored by Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan (D-N.Y.), this measure would prohibit U.S. prosecution of anyone who imported relics defined as “stolen” solely because a foreign country has classified them as cultural relics. This bill is under consideration by a subcommittee on criminal law.

“Sometimes I wonder whether the senators are in the smuggling business,” architect Ramirez said.

Mexican officials believe that the 173 pre-Columbian pieces stolen from the Museum of Anthropology last month are intended for private collections because the items are too well-known to be put on public display.

Growing Market

The museum theft was perhaps the largest single theft of pre-Columbian art since the Spanish conquistadores plundered the temples and palaces of Mexico and Peru. But it was only the latest in a string of thefts that feed a lucrative and growing international market.

Sometimes archeological digs are looted even before scientists can learn precisely what they contain. Not long ago a gang tried to loot a temple in northern Guatemala only a week after scientists discovered it.

In what has become a trend, professional plunderers have taken to showing collectors photos and maps of prospective looting sites, and offering treasure in return for money in advance and a share of any profits.

It is difficult to estimate the number of pre-Columbian pieces being smuggled onto the art market. One Mexican museum official put the figure at 300 a day from Mexico alone.