A Colorado auction house is selling Mexican antiquities. That nation's leaders say they're stolen

Leaders have vocally objected to auction sales in the U.S. and in Europe over the past five years, using social media to plead their cases for repatriation under the hashtag #MiPatriomonioNoSeVende, or “My Heritage Is Not for Sale.”

Since 2018, Mexico has received more than 13,500 archaeological and historical objects from 15 different countries, including the U.S., Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Germany, ArtNews reported last year. In May, a delegation from Mexico flew to Colorado to accept the return of a $12 million ancient “earth monster” artifact that had been in the possession of an unnamed collector.

“A byproduct of our business”

The Artemis Gallery, though, does have a history of marketing pieces authorities have determined were looted.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City, which has a specialized Antiquities Trafficking Unit, executed a search warrant on Artemis in May, taking possession of an ancient Egyptian piece that had been illegally removed from the source country, court documents show.

Investigators said neither Dodge nor Artemis had engaged in any criminal activity. The item was set to be repatriated to Egypt.

The following month, a New York judge ordered Artemis give up two more stolen Egyptian pieces — a $12,000 painted cedar wood coffin cover and a $3,500 slipper coffin lid from 1500 to 1200 BCE, documents show.

The seizures came as part of the Manhattan DA’s criminal investigation into an Egyptian trafficking network.

Dodge said he’s in constant communication with authorities, but that seizures are simply “a byproduct of our business.”

“That is something that happens to every dealer of ancient art,” he said. “Unknowingly, people will come to us with items that have been stolen. We do not have access to those records that show they have been stolen.”

He does worry, he said, about increased attention from law enforcement on cultural property.

“It is one of the biggest challenges of being an antiquity dealer,” Dodge said. “The political climate of collecting antiquities seems to be shifting.”

-------