The request was sent through a letter signed by the Colombian Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Culture, addressed to their Spanish counterparts
by the El Reportero‘s wire services
The Government of Colombia formally requested Spain to return the ‘Quimbaya Collection’, comprising more than 120 archaeological assets of pre-Hispanic origin found in the Museum of America in Madrid, the Spanish capital.
The request was sent through the Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Knowledge of Colombia through a letter addressed to the Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares; and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun Domènech, according to local media from both countries.
W Radio detailed that the letter is signed by the Colombian Foreign Minister, Luis Gilberto Murillo, and the head of Culture, Juan David Correa, who explained in the letter the importance of the aforementioned archaeological collection for the country, and that its return represents one more step towards decolonization.
The El Diario de España, which had access to the letter sent by Bogotá to Madrid, indicated that the also called ‘Treasure of the Quimbaya’ arrived in that European country at the end of the 19th century, when the then Colombian president Carlos Holguín gave these pieces to Queen María Cristina, to thank her for her mediation in a border conflict with Venezuela.
However, Holguín’s luxurious gift was widely criticized because he delivered it to Spain without the Colombian Congress giving it its approval, an act considered irregular, which violated Colombian sovereignty and laws.
“This gift that was made to Spain was made by an illegitimate person who, although he represented the Government of that time, in 1892, did not comply with the rules that existed then or those that exist now regarding consulting the true owners,” said the Colombian Minister of Culture to El Diario, who also pointed out that this incident was a “brutal act for heritage.”
Endorsement of the Court of Colombia
The request of the Government of Gustavo Petro to Spain also has the endorsement of the Constitutional Court of Colombia, which in 2017 indicated in a ruling that “the transfer of the Quimbaya Collection violated clear norms of the political Constitution of 1886 then in force.”
For this reason, the constitutional court indicated, the Colombian Government should initiate the processes for the repatriation of these ancestral assets that are part of the historical heritage of Colombia and its sovereignty.
“The collection is made up of archaeological goods (ceramics, goldsmiths, lithics and organics) associated with the Quimbaya Classic period that were looted by local guaqueros and delivered by the Colombian Government to the Kingdom of Spain in 1893, ignoring their cultural value for our nation,” indicated the Colombian ministers in the letter sent to their Spanish counterparts, dated May 9.
Minister Correa told El Diario that he seeks to start talks with his Spanish counterpart, Urtasun, who months ago spoke of “decolonizing” Spain’s museums.
“We do not demand anything. We are not a Government that wants to move by force. Only a conversation about the position of the Ministry of Culture, the minister and the Spanish Government on the possible return of the Quimbaya collection,” he said.
