Rome, Carabinieri deliver two valuable Mesoamerican artifacts to Museum of Civilizations

This morning, the Commander of the Carabinieri Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale in Venice handed over two relevant archaeological artifacts of Mesoamerican origin to the Museum of Civilizations in Rome. The first is a precious gold pendant depicting two warriors from the Gran Coclé culture of Panama (650-1520 A.D.), each adorned with a war insignia and a dart thrower. This artifact is presumed to be part of the grave goods of an individual of high social status, such as a chief, priest, or shaman. Its fine workmanship, rarity in Italian collections and significant value as evidence of pre-Columbian art from Central America led the Veneto Regional Secretariat, on the recommendation of the Carabinieri Nucleo Tutela Patrimonio Culturale of Venice and after evaluation by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio of Venice, to recognize its special importance under the Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape.

The second find is a clay figurine dating to the Nayarit culture of northwestern Mexico (100 B.C.-300 A.D.), also part of a funerary context. Made of reddish impasto pottery and subjected to oxidizing firing, it has a creamy white coating and red-painted details. The statue depicts a kneeling female figure, with her upper limbs only sketched and stretched forward (her right arm is missing). The figure is adorned with a multi-turn necklace composed of red circular beads and a half-moon-shaped nose ornament. Similar to the pendant, the Veneto Regional Secretariat recognized the special importance of this find on equivalent grounds, deliberating it after a dedicated investigation.

The investigation, led by the Venice Public Prosecutor’s Office, was initiated by the Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale (Carabinieri Cultural Heritage Protection Unit) in October 2020, as part of an inspection activity by the Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio (Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape Superintendence for the Municipality of Venice and the Lagoon), with which the Carabinieri TPC routinely collaborate. After examining several items of cultural interest stored in a prestigious Venetian palace, the two Mesoamerican artifacts, along with 33 other items of archaeological value, were seized because their keeper could not provide valid documentation of ownership. The cooperation of the custodian was crucial to the investigation. The investigation revealed the possible criminal involvement of a deceased individual, who was charged with receiving and trading in counterfeit goods.

At the end of the investigation, in September 2023, the Venice Court ordered the confiscation of the goods, two of which were assigned to the Museum of Civilizations in Rome and thirty-three to the Venice Superintendency. These include an Egyptian ushabti. During the investigation, military personnel from the CC TPC Venice Unit made use of technical and art-historical examinations carried out by archaeological officials from the A.B.A.P. Superintendencies of Venice and Padua, as well as staff from the Museum of Civilizations in Rome and professors from the RomaTre University’s Fake Laboratory.

Combating illicit trafficking in archaeological artifacts represents one of the priority lines of investigation followed by the Venice CC TPC Unit. The latter engages in regular checks at commercial establishments in the sector and collects reports from scholars and enthusiasts, in collaboration with the central and peripheral offices of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities. The return of these artifacts to public heritage makes it possible to make objects that tell the story of territories and communities accessible to the public, bearing witness to important cultural values.

Rome, Carabinieri deliver two valuable Mesoamerican artifacts to Museum of Civilizations

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