There is a Treaty of Cooperation between the United States and Mexico which
was entered into force March 24, 1971, regarding the Recovery and Return of
Stolen Archaeological Historical and Cultural Properties that specifically
states in Article III: "1.  Each Party agrees, at the request of the other
Party, to employ the legal means at its disposal to recover and return from
its territory stolen archaeological, historical and cultural properties
that are removed after the date of entry into force of this Treaty from the
territory of the requesting Party.  2. Requests for the recovery and return
of designated archaeological, historical and cultural properities shall be
made through diplomatic offices...."    At this time I am not aware of any
additional agreement with Mexico which impacts this issue, but I would like
to hear from other museums who have dealt with these concerns.
Florence Schwein

 >Oddly enough, I have been approached by two separate individuals in the last
>few weeks with regard to how to handle ownership of pre-colombian art. It is
>my understanding that possession of such artifacts is illegal in the US,
>under any circumstances, and there is a prison term meted out to offenders.
>Questions: is this correct? What about in Europe? I know it is unethical to
>buy and sell pc art, but what about legally? If someone were to have a piece
>and want to return it to the country of origin, what is the safest way to do
>so? Is there any situation in which an individual is legally ok to own such
>an artifact? Does it make any difference if the piece was received as a gift
>or inherited? Any museum lagal eagles out there? TIA,
>
>- Adrienne

Florence Schwein, Director ([log in to unmask])
Centennial Museum at The University of Texas at El Paso
Phone:  (915) 747-5565     FAX:  (915) 747-5411  E-mail:  [log in to unmask]
Visit our web page at http://www.utep.edu/~museum/home.html