The Kahlúa Figurines

The Kahlúa Figurines

In 2022, Swedish vodka brand, 'Absolut', voluntarily repatriated two pre-Columbian ceramics to the Mexican government.

These two artifacts found notoriety due to their use in Kahlúa advertisements in the 1960's and 1970's. Jules Berman, a Southern California real estate developer and collector of pre-Columbian art, was the first importer of Kahlúa into the United States in the 1960's. He used the artifacts from his collection to promote the Mexican heritage of the liqueur.

The larger of the figures first appeared in magazines such as Esquire and Bon Appétit in 1965. The smaller piece later appeared in full page color advertisements in 1979. As with the majority of Kahlúa advertisements, these pieces originated from the Shaft Tomb cultures of West Mexico, dating to 300 BC - 600 AD.

Many of the pieces used in these advertisements and exhibits came from Jule Berman’s own private collection. A 1995 interview sheds light on Berman’s collection and how it started. Berman had no prior interest or knowledge of pre-Columbian art before buying a small collection of pieces on a whim in the early 1960’s. From then on, he began collecting more and more on his monthly business trips to Mexico.

The first pieces Berman collected were sold to him by a local, but eventually evolved into a fine-tuned process. Berman claimed to have a collection of local ‘diggers’ who would bring pieces in for his manager to photograph and forward to Berman. Berman would then select the pieces he wanted most. These ‘diggers’ also occasionally snuck in fake pieces and forced Berman to buy them as part of a set with authentic pieces.

It is unclear how these two figures ended up in the Stockholm office of Absolut. Berman sold Kahlúa in 1969, but use of his collection advertisements continued into the 1970’s. Kahlúa was acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2005, which later acquired Absolut in 2008. It is possible these two pieces stayed within the company, perhaps due to their use in advertisements.

In March 2022, Lovisa Severin Kragerud, the archivist of Absolut, contacted Mexican authorities regarding returning these pieces. Paula Eriksson, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Communication of Absolut, mentioned that the Absolut office only recently received the pieces. The pieces were then formally repatriated that June and are now in the care of the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH).

2

Sculpture – statues, carvings, bronzes, reliefs, figurines

West Mexican Shaft Tomb Cultures (Larger Figure: Colima, Smaller Figure: Nayarit (Chinesco)

Jules Berman

Mexico

ENTREPRENEURS OF THE WEST - Jules Berman.
https://static.library.ucla.edu/oralhistory/pdf/submasters/21198-zz0008zqjm-1-submaster.pdf

[Please note pg. 55 and pp.179-184 for information of first Kahlúa collection, use of pre-Colombian artifacts in advertisements, and use of local diggers]

Jasmine Gloria

Liv Siefert