In the third and final entry documenting her winter term project in Guatemala, 3L Therese Rohrbeck delved further into her research of the looting of colonial art from Guatemala’s churches and museums. In addition to interviewing a curator at the Colonial Art Museum in Antigua, Therese also visited the Ministry of Culture in Guatemala City to interview an official concerning Guatemala’s cultural property laws and national ownership laws. She is currently back in Cambridge finishing a paper she intends to submit for publication in the Journal of Field Archaeology.
“On January 7th, I left Chicago and the AIA/APA meeting to travel to Guatemala City. I had several goals during my time in Guatemala City. I wanted to learn more about colonial art – the religious and secular art and architecture created by the indigenous people during the Spanish conquest. Roughly, this era dates from 1530-1830. The opportunity to see this art at first hand is imperative to my research. As a student of art history for both undergraduate and graduate studies, I knew that seeing objects with my own eyes allows for deeper study. In addition, I needed to understand if Guatemala had declared national ownership of its colonial objects. My law article urges Guatemala to petition the United States to enter into an agreement to protect colonial culture through the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA). In brief, if Guatemala has declared national ownership of these objects, the ability to enter into an agreement with the United States is easier. A known owner, such as the Guatemalan government, would require illegally removed colonial objects from the country, which are imported into the United States, to be returned by the United States to Guatemala.
“Back at HLS, I came in contact with Vilma Fialko. Fialko is a native Guatemalan woman who splits each month between working at the Ministry of Culture and the Mayan archeological site of Petén. At the Ministry of Culture, Fialko works as the coordinator of the Protection of Archaeological Sites in Petén and the National Park of Yaxhá-Nakum-Naranjo. When she travels to Petén, she is an archaeologist and serves as the only female director of excavation in Guatemala.
“I met Fialko on the morning of January 8th. After having a quick breakfast, we traveled to the Museo Nacional de Historia (National History Museum). I was scheduled to meet Licenciado Miguel Alvarez, the director of the museum. Although the Museo Nacional de Historia only harbors a small collection of colonial pieces, Alvarez is considered an expert in the field of colonial art. Alvarez spent the morning telling me about the various thefts of colonial art experienced by Guatemala. The most notorious occurred in 2004, when robbers entered the Museo de Arte Colonial (Colonial Art Museum) in Antigua, Guatemala. The looters killed the security guard and left with three pieces of colonial art – a crucifix, sculpture of the Virgin Mary, and a painting entitled ‘The Dream of Pope Gregory IX.’ So far, the painting has been recovered in Mexico.
“That afternoon, Fialko and I left for the Ministry of Culture. In the Ministry, I met with Licenciado Óscar Mora, a lawyer and director of the Illicit Trafficking of Cultural Patrimony Department. When I stepped into his department, I saw a bulletin board full of images of missing colonial artifacts. These images reveal the extent of the work needed to be done to protect Guatemala’s colonial cultural material. Mora explained to me the creation of the Illicit Trafficking Cultural Patrimony Department in 2003 and its function. Since its creation, the department estimates 101 objects of both pre-Columbian and colonial era have been looted. Mora gave me a copy of the department’s database of missing objects in which conflicting information appears in regards to the recovery of stolen artifacts. While two objects have been identified as recovered in the object ID database, a separate set of statistics states that three objects were recovered in 2004 and five objects in 2005.
“Mora also gave me copies of Guatemala’s cultural property legislation. One question I sought desperately to answer was if Guatemala had declared national ownership of its colonial heritage and when. After months of painstakingly researching Guatemalan law through the International Law Library at HLS, I had not been able to find legislation declaring national ownership of colonial objects. I had, however, come across legislation no. 18-93, the 1985 Constitution with 1993 reforms. This legislation clearly declared archaeological monuments and relics as goods of the state. Currently, the United States has entered into an agreement with Guatemala to protect its pre-Columbian, archaeological material through the CPIA. Mora stated that unlike archaeological remains, the country has not declared national ownership of its colonial heritage.
“Mora explained to me why Guatemala has not declared national ownership of its colonial treasures nor will do so in the near future. The answer is complicated. At the present time, colonial art can be owned by any number of people, including individual private collectors, the government, and the churches. The churches have a special type of ownership guided by the confradias. The confradias, or a type of representative of the church, are mainly found in the highlands of Guatemala populated by the indigenous Mayans. Guatemala experienced a 35 year civil war fought between the native Mayans and the military, which formally ended in 2000 with the signing of peace accords. These peace accords helped to protect indigenous rights. With its signing, the state agreed to allow the confradias to have ownership over the colonial art often used for religious worship.
“Although Guatemala has not formally declared ownership of all colonial cultural material found in museums and churches, I believe that my argument is still valid. The United States should enter into an agreement with Guatemala through the CPIA to stop the illicit importation of this colonial heritage. The reasons being that colonial material fits the definition of ethnological material set forth in the CPIA and it is important to the heritage of the people. This argument is something I will more fully explore with my advisor Professor Terry Martin when I return back to HLS.
“After learning about the thefts of colonial art and Guatemala’s current cultural property legislation, I sought to learn more about colonial art and architecture. I met with Coralia Rodriguez, head curator of colonial art at the Museo Popol Vuh in Guatemala City. She spent hours walking me through the galleries. Rodriguez explained to me the techniques used in the creation of colonial religious and secular art. We also visited the storage area of the museum, where objects are catalogued and registered with both the museum and national government. Registration allows for potentially easier recovery if an object were to go missing from the museum. Rodriguez explained to me that the Museo Popol Vuh’s technique of registration is unique to Guatemala. Since it is tied to the Francisco Marroquín University, the museum has proper funding to undergo the extensive task of registering and photo documenting its collection. The same can not be said of government sponsored museums. She invited me to her house for lunch, and I had the opportunity to look through her collection of colonial exhibition catalogues and reference books.
” I spent my last two days in Guatemala City touring a few of the colonial churches still remaining in the city. My five days in Guatemala City quickly came to an end. I then traveled t Antigua, Guatemala continuing my research. Antigua, Guatemala or Old Guatemala is a beautiful colonial town nestled in between active volcanoes. It served as the former capital of Spain’s colonial empire in Central America until an earthquake in 1773 ruined the city. The capital was moved to its current site in Guatemala City and Antigua’s colonial architecture was maintained. Today, Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. UNESCO declared the entire city to be cultural heritage due to its “outstanding universal value.” Antigua is an “irreplaceable source of life and inspiration.”
“I arrived to Antigua via taxi from Guatemala City. The ride, traveled on well paved roads, is about 45 minutes long. My main goal in Antigua was to see the colonial art and architecture I had spent time reading about before my travels. I needed to take photographs for my article and see these sites with my own eyes.
“I spent a week walking its cobble stone streets. My tour started in the Parque Central, Antigua’s central plaza. It is bordered by the Catedral de Santiago, Palacio del Ayuntamiento, and the Palacio de los Capitanes Generales. The Catedral de Santiago is constructed of beautiful arches and towering columns. The remains of the colonial structure can be seen covered in moss and rotting beams. The Palacio del Ayuntamiento, constructed in 1740, functioned as the town hall and miraculously withstood the devastating earthquake. The Palacio de los Capitanes Generales dates to 1558 and served as Spain’s seat of government for Central America until 1773.
“I visited the Iglesia y Convento de las Capuchinas, an abandoned convent undergoing restoration, and La Merced, one of Antigua’s most beautiful churches. Centro Cultural Casa Santo Domingo harbors a colonial museum on the grounds of a monastery. In addition, the Arco de Santa Catalina is one of Antigua’s most recognizable landmarks. It is all that remains of a convent dating to 1613. The archway was used by the nuns to cross the street in order to avoid contact with the general population, thus abiding by the strict rules of seclusion.
“Sitting down and thinking about the revisions for my article, I realize that the looting of colonial art from Guatemala’s churches and museums is a devastating loss. No matter what religion or life philosophy you abide by, there are places in this world that are greater than the present day. They possess a history and people that came before us and require our respect for future generations to enjoy. The looting is occurring all over Guatemala, including Antigua. Collectors who purchase stolen cultural heritage supply their immediate gratification and spur the loss of a nation’s cultural identity.
“Purchasing colonial art from a previous owner’s collection who no longer desires the object is acceptable and legal. It is a valid transaction which passes title of the object from one who desires to less to another who desires it more. Yet, when objects are being taken from places of worship and public museums to supply demand, there is no legal passing of title. Collecting nations like the United States need to place import restrictions on this endangered cultural material to allow it to be returned to its source nation.
“Upon my return to Cambridge, I will finish my article and submit it for publication. I will send a copy to the U.S. State Department and Guatemala’s Ministry of Culture. I will extend my services to these departments to see if an agreement can be made through the Cultural Property Implementation Act (CPIA) to prohibit this plundered material from entering our borders.”
