Description The Quimbaya Treasure , on display since 1892 in the Museo de América in Madrid , is one of the most important collections of pre-Columbian art due to its artistic and technical quality . In 2017 , the Colombian Constitutional Court ordered the repatriation of this set of 122 pieces , made up of different gold objects - headdresses , vessels , nose rings , necklaces , earrings , pre-Columbian containers , musical instruments , etc .
These pieces , buried as offerings in two indigenous tombs , were found by grave robbers in 1890 in the municipality of La Soledad , on a road between the towns of Filandia and Quimbaya . The municipality of Filandia had been founded twelve years earlier , in 1878 , in the department of Quindío as part of the colonisation of Antioquia . In fact , at first , the find was named after the Quimbaya cacique who resisted the Spanish conquest : “ el tesoro de Calarcá ” ( Calarcá ’ s treasure ). According to John Jairo Osorio , an anthropologist at the National University , the “ Quimbaya Treasure ” is part of the process of searching for riches in little explored regions that developed during the colonisation of Antioquia . Grave robbers stole the grave goods of the indigenous aboriginal groups .
The treasure was acquired by the Colombian state and later taken to Madrid for the American Historical Exhibition held in 1892 to mark the 5th centenary of the “ Discovery of America ”. Once the exhibition was over , the then President of Colombia , Carlos Holguín , publicly presented the collection to the Queen Regent María Cristina as a gift for Spain ’ s mediation in the conflict with Venezuela over the delimitation of the borders between the two countries . The objects ended up on display in the Archaeological Museum .
Lawyers Felipe Rincón Salgado and Antonio José Rengifo initiated a popular action seeking to have the Constitutional Court declare the donation illegal under the legislative framework of the time , and to activate the necessary steps for its repatriation . After a long judicial litigation , the ruling was in their favour in October 2017 . Despite pressure from other sectors of society demanding the return of the pieces as part of Colombia ’ s indigenous identity and memory , the request has not yet been heeded by state agents . There were two other previously ignored attempts to investigate and return the pieces , by former president Belisario Betancur and the Colombian ambassador to Spain , Ernesto Samper .
It was in 2020 when the Quindío History Academy submitted a request to Iván Duque , President of Colombia at the time , asking for the reactivation of the procedures for the repatriation of the treasure , thus complying with the ruling issued three years earlier . In response , on 23 February 2022 , the Spanish government issued an official letter stating that the Quimbaya Collection is an Asset of Cultural Interest in Spain , a title that prevents its export . During his visit to Spain in April 2023 , President Gustavo Petro made a statement on the possible return of the Quimbaya Treasure , in response to the Colombian government ’ s offer to transfer part of the contents of the Sant José galleon to Spain . However , the dispute remains unresolved .
Links and sources :
s / f ( 3 May 2023 ). Petro afirma que España ofreció llevar el Tesoro Quimbaya a Colombia en las conversaciones sobre el galeón San José , ABC . Available at : https :// www . abc . es / cultura / colombia-afirma-espana-ofrecio-llevar-tesoro-quimbaya- 20230503105646-nt . html Spanish Embassy ( 30 March 2022 ). Official letter from the Spanish government refusing the return of the Quimbaya Treasure , El País . Available at : https :// cr00 . epimg . net / descargables / 2022 / 03 / 30 / b6e6f2a0a3b0cd9ee2c36a4d6dac6a79 . p df
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