Teotihuacán Murals
Object or Group Name
Teotihuacán Murals
Case Summary
The Teotihuacán mural repatriation presents one of the most complex legal disputes in U.S. cultural patrimony law.
In the early 1960s, San Francisco architect Harold Wagner visited the Aztec site of Teotihuacán. During his visit, he purchased 70 murals, which had been stripped from an underground chamber located near the Pyramid of the Sun.
The exact year of the arrival of the murals into the US is still disputed. It is relevant because in 1971, the United States and Mexico agreed to a Treaty of Cooperation that pertained to the "Recovery and Return of Stolen Archaeological, Historical, and Cultural Properties."
In 1976, Harold Wagner died, leaving all 70 murals to the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, one of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Between their purchase and Wagner's passing, he kept the murals (some still in crates) in the commercial building where he resided. Some had allegedly been affixed to corkboard frames by Wagner in an attempted to restore some of the pieces himself. Other larger pieces were left lying on the floor.
Two years later, in July of 1978, the De Young's Assistant Curator of the Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Kathleen Berrin discovered that Wagner had not acquired an export license for the removal of the murals from Mexico. Coupled with other ethical concerns regarding the proper care and conservation of the murals, the museum contacted the Mexican Consul General in San Francisco and proposed either shared ownership of the murals or partial repatriation.
The Consul General relayed the museum's enquiry to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico. Pursuant to the 1971 Treaty of Cooperation, the Mexican government formally requested the United States Attorney General block Wagner's bequest of the murals to the museum and to return all 70 pieces.
In November 1978, the Federal District Court found no evidence that the murals entering the United States after 1971, when the Treaty became enforceable. Affidavits from some of Wagner's friends supported this, stating that they had seen the murals in his home before that year. City Attorney Judith Teichmann exclaimed that the murals would be repatriated "over her dead body," highlighting that the Treaty was not retroactive. (The refusal was in apparent defiance of a 1934 Mexican law that required Wagner to obtain an export license.) As a result, the the murals became San Francisco property, under the care of the museum as a public agency.
Within the same month, negotiations began between the museum and INAH. In May 1979, the two stakeholders came to a ten-point agreement that pushed for the repatriation of a few murals that required conservation resources that INAH had developed.
In February of 1980, however, Director-General of INAH García Cantú sent a new proposal to Berrin, stating that they wanted the return of all the murals. In December of 1981, negotiations came to a new four-point agreement, where the museum agreed to "return to Mexico a minimum of fifty percent of the murals to create a positive moral climate and precedent."
The joint custody agreement was confirmed in 1984 and by February of 1986, 70% of the murals had been returned.
In the early 1960s, San Francisco architect Harold Wagner visited the Aztec site of Teotihuacán. During his visit, he purchased 70 murals, which had been stripped from an underground chamber located near the Pyramid of the Sun.
The exact year of the arrival of the murals into the US is still disputed. It is relevant because in 1971, the United States and Mexico agreed to a Treaty of Cooperation that pertained to the "Recovery and Return of Stolen Archaeological, Historical, and Cultural Properties."
In 1976, Harold Wagner died, leaving all 70 murals to the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, one of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
Between their purchase and Wagner's passing, he kept the murals (some still in crates) in the commercial building where he resided. Some had allegedly been affixed to corkboard frames by Wagner in an attempted to restore some of the pieces himself. Other larger pieces were left lying on the floor.
Two years later, in July of 1978, the De Young's Assistant Curator of the Art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas Kathleen Berrin discovered that Wagner had not acquired an export license for the removal of the murals from Mexico. Coupled with other ethical concerns regarding the proper care and conservation of the murals, the museum contacted the Mexican Consul General in San Francisco and proposed either shared ownership of the murals or partial repatriation.
The Consul General relayed the museum's enquiry to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico. Pursuant to the 1971 Treaty of Cooperation, the Mexican government formally requested the United States Attorney General block Wagner's bequest of the murals to the museum and to return all 70 pieces.
In November 1978, the Federal District Court found no evidence that the murals entering the United States after 1971, when the Treaty became enforceable. Affidavits from some of Wagner's friends supported this, stating that they had seen the murals in his home before that year. City Attorney Judith Teichmann exclaimed that the murals would be repatriated "over her dead body," highlighting that the Treaty was not retroactive. (The refusal was in apparent defiance of a 1934 Mexican law that required Wagner to obtain an export license.) As a result, the the murals became San Francisco property, under the care of the museum as a public agency.
Within the same month, negotiations began between the museum and INAH. In May 1979, the two stakeholders came to a ten-point agreement that pushed for the repatriation of a few murals that required conservation resources that INAH had developed.
In February of 1980, however, Director-General of INAH García Cantú sent a new proposal to Berrin, stating that they wanted the return of all the murals. In December of 1981, negotiations came to a new four-point agreement, where the museum agreed to "return to Mexico a minimum of fifty percent of the murals to create a positive moral climate and precedent."
The joint custody agreement was confirmed in 1984 and by February of 1986, 70% of the murals had been returned.
Number of Objects
49
Object Type
Architecture – antefixes, doors, sconces, friezes
Culture
Aztec
Private Collector
Harold Wagner
Museum Name
M.H. de Young Memorial Museum (Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco)
Museum Accession Number
1985.104
Receiving Country
Mexico
Sources
Case Murals of Teotihuacán – Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and National Institute of Anthropology and History
https://plone.unige.ch/art-adr/cases-affaires/case-murals-of-teotihuacan-2013-fine-arts-museums-of-san-francisco-and-national-institute-of-anthropology-and-history
https://plone.unige.ch/art-adr/cases-affaires/case-murals-of-teotihuacan-2013-fine-arts-museums-of-san-francisco-and-national-institute-of-anthropology-and-history
Berrin, K. (2007), "San Francisco, Mexico, and the Teotihuacan Murals", Museum International 59(35), 9-21.
MOLA Contributor(s)
Liv Siefert
Peer Reviewed By
Jason Felch
Citation
“Teotihuacán Murals,” Museum of Looted Antiquities, accessed September 15, 2024, https://mola.omeka.net/items/show/2234.