Paris: France and Mexico signed an agreement on Thursday to work with the trading of cultural artifacts, an agreement called Mexican Foreign Minister as an important step towards recovery and protecting Mexican cultural heritage.
Details of the agreement were not immediately released.
It came after Mexico filed a complaint with the French government against a large auction of pre-Hispanic statues and other artifacts by Christie from Paris earlier this year.
Paris auction houses often sell original artifacts that already exist in the art market, despite protests from activists who say they must be returned to their original land.
In signing the Cooperation Agreement, French and Mexican foreign ministers recognized Thursday that their countries have different laws around cultural objects but promised to work together in the future to combat art trade.
“Recovery and protection of our cultural goods is a big problem for us,” Mexico Foreign Minister Marcelo Obrard said.
“I am happy that on this occasion France accompanied us and supported this initiative even though our legal system was very different.
We have not always shared the same posture, but this agreement is very positive.” He said the agreement included the mechanism “to block the maximum way possible commercialization – which was illegal – chip that was important for Historical Patrioni and Mexican culture.” The Anthropology and National History Institute of Mexico protested the sale of Paris Christie earlier this year.
The collection included a 1,500-year-old stone mask from the ancient city of Teotihuacan, and an ancient statue of the goddess of Cihuatus fertility, apparently from Totonac’s culture.
The auction brings more than $ 3 million.