Ancient grave artifacts return to Colombia

Posted on Tue, Jul. 08, 2008

Ancient grave artifacts return to Colombia

BY LAURA ISENSEE

For centuries, the dead guarded precious objects in their graves: painted terra cotta dishes, figurines, gold ornaments and other pre-Columbian artifacts.
For the dead, they were offerings and objects for the afterlife, a sign of their prestige.

For looters and an Italian smuggler caught in South Florida, they were prime merchandise.

Now the artifacts will return home. Not to their unknown graves, but to their home country, Colombia.

More than 60 artifacts -- some more than 2,000 years old -- were being flown to Colombia Tuesday, after the director of that country's anthropology institute and the U.S. customs officer who worked the case signed the official repatriation certificate.

''These pieces are indeed part of the history, part of the identity of Colombia,'' said Diego Herrera, director of the Colombian Institute of Anthropology.

Herrera refused to put a dollar figure on the objects: ''The value of these artifacts is not monetary. It's historical, cultural and symbolic value,'' he said.

Immigration agents discovered the artifacts after a tip from the Broward Sheriff's Office in 2005. An intensive two-month investigation led the agents to Ugo Bagnato, 66, an Italian living in Miami.

Undercover agents met Bagnato and bought a few pieces from him for some $2,500 in Broward, said Anthony Mangione, special agent-in-charge with Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Office of Investigations in Miami.

Bagnato pleaded guilty to the sale and receipt of stolen goods. He served 17 months in federal prison before he was deported to Italy in July 2007. Some of the objects he smuggled were discovered in storage sheds, others in a Winnebago van, tossed in as if they were headed to a flea market, Mangione said.

''A nation's culture is not for sale,'' Mangione said. ``These are not souvenirs to be bought and sold. Each one is a national treasure.''

The artifacts -- terra cotta pots and dishes, gold ornaments and chunks of emerald that once formed a necklace -- were grave goods, said Carol Damian, who analyzed the pottery pieces for the U.S. government. Damian teaches art history at Florida International University.

Once returned to Colombia, the artifacts will be investigated and used for educational purposes, Herrera said. Their future, permanent home could be at the National Museum in Bogotá, he said.

The cache of pre-Columbian objects returned to Colombia is the second set of artifacts that immigration agents repatriated from the Italian smuggler's loot.

In July 2007, more than 400 pre-Columbian archaeological artifacts were returned to Peru.

The pieces would have ended up in private collectors' hands in the United States or Europe if authorities had not discovered them.

The emerald pieces were discovered in California, where Bagnato was trying to sell them to the Gemological Institute of America in San Diego, Mangione said. When the institute learned Bagnato had been arrested, they contacted authorities, Mangione said.

The emerald pieces bear small holes, drilled with sand and wood, which indicate the emerald nuggets once formed a necklace.

The objects, such as dishes once filled with grain offerings, were meant to accompany the dead in the afterlife, Damian said.

''The more you were buried with, the more important you were,'' Damian said.

http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/597649.html">http://www.miamiherald.com/579/story/597649.html

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By Simon on Jul 8, 2008, 17:53 in Friendly Talkzone.

dwmte7 says on Jul 9, 2008, 04:17:

it is sad, simon, that a country's history is plundered and exported abroad to ready and willing buyers.

unfortunately and as well, are the thousands of collectors in colombia. i know a relatively famous painter in llano grande who is a guaquero (grave digger ) don't know if i spelled that correctly. this guy is so greedy, in his house, he has literally, thousands of artifacts, lining walls, sitting on the floor, tables and shelves...including a giant sarcophogus...everywhere in his house. it's shameful. he treats grave robbing like an art form. and he's not the only one.

my sister once dated the son of rodrigo gotcha and this young fellow claimed to have one of the largest collections of gold artifacts around. i never saw it...although i tried. too, i had many friends who's homes were mini-museums in poblado. all laden with national treasure.

the only good point in this, is that the booty is still in the country.

dwmte

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Monpirri says on Jul 9, 2008, 05:25:

Several months ago I read that a Colombian woman and her man fleet Colombia with a significant amount of historical artifacts.
The good news, they were apprehended in Spain. I hope the authorities catch all these crooks.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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dwmte7 says on Jul 9, 2008, 14:59:

yep. same in peru and mexico.

dwmte

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Simon says on Jul 9, 2008, 17:36:

Thanks for sharing that story, Dwmte!

HERE'S SIMON!!!!

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dwmte7 says on Jul 9, 2008, 18:01:

de nada, hermano

dwmte

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MaFe says on Jul 9, 2008, 19:52:

Great article Simon, thanks for sharing. It's very disturbing to see how Colombians would wnat to deprive their own country and people of part of their history for a quick buck?!

At least they are returning back where they belong!

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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dwmte7 says on Jul 10, 2008, 06:18:

the monies probably more than you can believe, mafe....my business partner sold a peruvian woven hat, appx 1,000 yrs old, about 20 years ago, for over $25,000.00 u.s.

dwmte

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Monpirri says on Jul 10, 2008, 09:36:

6/5/2008

EN ESPAÑA
Recuperan 700 piezas de arte precolombino
La policía española recuperó más de 700 piezas de arte precolombino de "incalculable valor", presuntamente saqueadas de países de Sudamérica para ser vendidas en Europa.
Las autoridades dicen que los artefactos, que incluyen collares, cadenas, zarcillos, máscaras, estatuas, cerámicas y utensilios, fueron extraídas de lugares arqueológicos en Colombia, Ecuador y Perú.
Un español y su esposa colombiana fueron arrestados y acusados de "vender objetos de arte saqueados".
La policía dijo el martes en un comunicado que la pareja viajaba con regularidad a Sudamérica para traer piezas que luego vendía en países europeos, principalmente en Francia.
Los objetos, hallados en propiedades que la pareja posee en la región de Rioja, al norte de España, fueron trasladadas a un museo en Madrid para que las autoridades suramericanas puedan reclamarlas.

http://www.eluniversal.com.co/noticias/20080509/sin_soc_recuperan_700_...

Aqui esta el dato que mencione arriba, todo por culpa de esos colombianos chimbiados!

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 10, 2008, 09:45:

Maybe I'm a bit odd, but the Gold Museum in Bogota has always struck me as a shameful reminder of what the Spaniards did to the indigenous people in South America. I find it very disturbing and don't like to go. We saw a small one in Cartagena earlier this year and it struck me in the same way.

There is a good historical fiction novel called Ursúa by Colombian author William Ospina. It recounts the adventures of Pedro de Ursúa, a Spanish nobleman who was heavily involved in the conquest of Colombia and the search for El Dorado. It is certainly worth a read if you are into this topic.

http://www.amazon.com/Urs%C3%BAa-William-Ospina/dp/9587043405/ref=pd_b...

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dwmte7 says on Jul 10, 2008, 16:29:

CG i think the gold museum is wierd also, but for different reasons....it reminds me of a head shop....but a solid gold head shop. all those tooter tubes, slicers, pounders, liners....bags for toot, lime, etc. those folks were serious into getting high. maybe folks don'[t want to believe it, but all they need to do is visit the museum and open their eyes.

dwmte

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ColombianoGringo says on Jul 10, 2008, 16:38:

Alright Hunter S.

Sounds like you have a certain train of thought today ;)

But you're right. I just hadn't thought of that.

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