Mexico Demands Return of 195 Pre-Hispanic Artifacts Listed on eBay

Mexico City — The Mexican government has demanded the immediate suspension of an online sale for 195 pre-Hispanic artifacts listed on eBay by a seller in Florida, calling for their repatriation as stolen national heritage.

Claudia Curiel de Icaza, head of Mexico’s Culture Ministry, announced the action on Friday after specialists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reviewed the listings. The items were offered by a user identified as ‘Coins Artifacts’ based in Orlando, Florida.

“We call for the immediate suspension of their sale and the return of the pieces to the Mexican state,” Curiel de Icaza said in a statement on social media platform X. “I inform you that the corresponding legal proceedings have been initiated before the competent authorities.”

The ministry sent a formal letter to eBay expressing its “categorical disapproval and rejection of the sale of pieces that are part of Mexico’s cultural heritage.” It stated that an INAH archaeological assessment of the online catalog determined all 195 objects are archaeological and historical goods protected under Mexican law.

According to the letter, such artifacts are considered national property, inalienable and imprescriptible, with their export prohibited since 1827. Their presence outside Mexico therefore “derives from illicit extraction.”

Curiel de Icaza said the government “appeals to the ethics and respect” for cultural heritage and urged eBay to remove the listings and take measures to prevent their offering and eventual sale. She described the artifacts as “an invaluable legacy of ancestral cultures and national history” and “the memory of the original peoples.”

The ministry also announced it has initiated legal proceedings with the relevant authorities to seek the repatriation of the pieces through official diplomatic and legal channels. It called on eBay to “reflect on the ethical and moral codes that should govern the commercialization of looted cultural goods,” a practice it said contributes to cultural plunder.

This demand follows another action on Thursday, when Mexico’s Culture Ministry called for the suspension of an auction featuring 40 archaeological pieces scheduled for Friday in Paris, France.

Since 2018, the Mexican government has recovered approximately 16,500 cultural pieces by challenging auctions in cities like New York, Paris, and Rome where stolen items or pieces belonging to Mexico’s heritage were offered. It has also intensified demands to foreign governments for the return of archaeological and artistic artifacts.