Mexico City Museum Loot Not Among Artifacts Seized at Border

U.S.-bound Mexican artifacts seized at the border here last week are not part of the loot from the sensational Christmas-morning robbery at the National Museum of Anthropology and History in Mexico City, officials said Tuesday.

News reports that the seized artifacts might include some of the more than 100 valuable pieces looted from the museum caused a considerable stir in highly nationalistic Mexico, where the museum robbery was portrayed in the media as a virtual assault on the nation’s historic patrimony. Mexican law strictly regulates the export of items of historic significance, although authorities acknowledge that there is a thriving worldwide black market in antiquities from throughout Latin America.

On Tuesday, Julia Bendimez, a Mexican archeologist called in to examine the artifacts seized here, failed to link any of the pieces to the daring museum robbery.

“These pieces aren’t at all related to the pieces stolen from the museum,” said Bendimez, regional director for the government-run National Institute of Anthropology and History.

She spoke during an impromptu news conference at the Mexican customs warehouse, where the artifacts are being stored alongside hundreds of contraband radios, television sets, clothing and other items seized during customs searches.

However, Bendimez said that three stone carvings among the many items were “very probably” authentic Indian pieces that predate the arrival of the Spaniards in Mexico during the 16th Century. Such “pre-Columbian” artifacts can fetch high prices from collectors, but Mexican authorities offered no estimate of the value.

In any event, exportation of the stone figures and more than 100 other artifacts also seized is “totally illegal” under Mexican law, said Eduardo Lopez Dupont, chief of the legal department for Mexican customs here. Included in the seized collection is a wide range of artifacts, including the carved stone figures, wooden furniture, ceramic dishes and metal candlesticks.

Lopez said that Mexican customs officials on Monday seized another truckload of what may be antiquities destined for the United States. The large, pinkish stone pieces, including numerous sculpted sections, appeared to be part of a building. Mexican authorities were investigating the origin of the pieces, said Lopez, who could provide no additional details.

In the earlier case, on the afternoon of July 21, Mexican customs authorities discovered the antiquities aboard a panel truck destined for the United States. In various invoices and customs documents, none of the material was described as having historic value, according to Mexican customs officials and Greitzer Brokers, the San Ysidro firm that helped arrange the shipment.

The items, which were shipped from Guadalajara, were destined for Joseph Neumen, a resident of Colton in San Bernardino County, according to Mexican customs officials and the U.S. broker. Neumen has been unavailable for comment; a message left with his answering service was not returned.

According to Lopez, Neumen was also the intended recipient of a shipment of antiquities seized at the Mexicali customs post in 1974. No charges were pressed against Neumen in that matter, Lopez said, although the items were confiscated.

Nonetheless, Lopez said, the recollection of that case led to the seizure in this instance. After this shipment was initially approved, Lopez said, another official recalled Neumen’s name from the earlier incident and ordered a thorough search. The search unveiled the possible antiquities and the items were seized.

Mexican authorities arrested the driver of the truck and an assistant, both of whom are employed by Greitzer Brokers. Jerome Greitzer, who owns the firm, maintains that both men believed that the shipment was legal and contained simple home furnishings. Neumen contacted the broker a few weeks ago and said he was redecorating his home in Colton, according to Greitzer.

“We are an innocent victim, and it’s very unfair as far as I’m concerned,” said Greitzer, whose firm is one of dozens of import-export specialists along the border.

The two employees, Lucio Chavez Correa and Ramon Salazar, both Tijuana residents, are being held in the city jail in Tijuana. The truck was also confiscated.

The Mexican attorney general’s office is now handling the investigation. Federal authorities will attempt to determine who in Guadalajara made the material available to the American buyer, Lopez said.

The antiquities will eventually be sent to Mexico City for more extensive examination.

The three suspected pre-Columbian pieces, all representing face-like images, have been sculpted from a heavy, granite-like stone; details are mostly obscured on the irregular-shaped stones. All three probably originated in southeastern Mexico, where Indians such as the Mayas were known for their stone work, said Bendimez.

The largest of the three pieces, with a diameter of about one foot, is believed to be a representation of the rain god Tlaloc, who was a deity in various indigenous cultures in Mexico. Four teeth, typical of representations of Tlaloc, are plainly visible.

Four other stone pieces are believed to be replicas. “Some of the replicas can be very sophisticated, and even an expert can’t tell the difference,” Bendimez said.

Most of the more than 100 artifacts, though, are more modern pieces dating from Spanish colonial times and later, authorities said. Among the items are a dozen wooden crosses, five wooden tables, two cupboards, a collection of antique branding irons, and several ceramic dishes.

“None of this may be taken from the country,” Lopez said as he gestured at the artifacts.