Panama denounces auction of archaeological pieces by German company
The Ministry of Culture requests that the Panamanian archaeological pieces found in the collection catalog be repatriated to Panama.
The Ministry of Culture of Panama (MiCultura) denounced this Saturday the sale of Panamanian archaeological pieces through an auction that will take place on September 21 by a German company Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger.
“Faced with a violation of our legal framework regarding the illicit trafficking of pre-Columbian objects, we denounced to Unesco the auction of objects directed by Dr. Francisca Bernheim at the Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger auction house, Munich in Germany, which will be held held on September 21, 2021, in which seven archaeological pieces belonging to the Cultural Heritage of our country have been recognized, ”MiCultura details in a statement.
It also expresses its rejection of this fact and asks that the Panamanian archaeological pieces found in the collection catalog be repatriated to Panama.
“It is of utmost concern that our pre-Columbian heritage is illegally sold, whether the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama protects them in Article 85, which establishes that 'the sites and objects of the nation constitute the historical heritage of the nation. archaeological documents, historical monuments or other movable or immovable property that are testimony to the Panamanian past. The State will decree the expropriation of those who are in the hands of private individuals, ”it indicates.
It adds that in addition the property of the State establishes in its Article 257 that "archaeological sites and objects belong to the State, whose exploitation, study and rescue will be regulated by law."
It is worth mentioning that as it was known, about 324 lots of archaeological pieces from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia will be sold in the auction.
On September 13, the Government of Mexico filed a complaint with the Attorney General against the Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger Society, for the auction of pieces belonging to the heritage of this country.
“Faced with a violation of our legal framework regarding the illicit trafficking of pre-Columbian objects, we denounced to Unesco the auction of objects directed by Dr. Francisca Bernheim at the Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger auction house, Munich in Germany, which will be held held on September 21, 2021, in which seven archaeological pieces belonging to the Cultural Heritage of our country have been recognized, ”MiCultura details in a statement.
It also expresses its rejection of this fact and asks that the Panamanian archaeological pieces found in the collection catalog be repatriated to Panama.
“It is of utmost concern that our pre-Columbian heritage is illegally sold, whether the Political Constitution of the Republic of Panama protects them in Article 85, which establishes that 'the sites and objects of the nation constitute the historical heritage of the nation. archaeological documents, historical monuments or other movable or immovable property that are testimony to the Panamanian past. The State will decree the expropriation of those who are in the hands of private individuals, ”it indicates.
It adds that in addition the property of the State establishes in its Article 257 that "archaeological sites and objects belong to the State, whose exploitation, study and rescue will be regulated by law."
It is worth mentioning that as it was known, about 324 lots of archaeological pieces from Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia will be sold in the auction.
On September 13, the Government of Mexico filed a complaint with the Attorney General against the Gerhard Hirsch Nachfolger Society, for the auction of pieces belonging to the heritage of this country.