He Treasure of the Quimabayas It is a historical jewel, a display of artisanal virtuosity and also, increasingly, a focus of diplomatic tensions between Spain and Colombia. At the epicenter of the dispute is a collection of 122 archaeological pieces made by the Quimbayas that in 1893 the then Colombian president gave to the queen of Spain in circumstances that have led to more than a century later, well into the 21st century, Bogotá has made a move to demand its return from Madrid. In May The Government of Gustavo Petro already did it with a letter. And now, faced with the silence of Moncloa, he plans to send a new letter.

His goal: to make it clear that he will not let the matter die.

A look at the 4th century. The one known as “Quimbaya treasure” has become a hot potato in relations between the governments of Gustavo Petro and Pedro Sánchez, but in reality its history is much older. The 122 pieces that make up it were made between the 4th and 7th centuries and are a demonstration of the craftsmanship of the Quimbaya people, who were located in the Lower Cauca Colombian. For the Ministry of Culture of Spain make up an “exceptional sample of pre-Columbian culture.” Hence they are preserved as a prominent claim in the Museum of America.

A busy 19th century. The pieces currently in dispute remained forgotten for centuries until in 1890 a group of guaqueros located them in two pre-Columbian tombs in Filandia, in the department of Quindío. The original treasure was much larger than the one that is kept in Madrid today and included, in addition to pieces of goldsmithing, ceramics, stones and fabrics, remember the BBC.

In 1891 the Colombian Government managed to obtain the collection of 433 objectsbut he didn’t hold her for long. Shortly after, at least part of the pieces crossed the Atlantic to be included in an exhibition organized in Madrid to commemorate the fourth centenary of the arrival of the Spanish to America.

In 1893 the then president of the country, Carlos Holguin decided to go one step further and handed over to the queen regent Maria Christina of Habsburg-Lorraine the pieces that Colombia now wants to recover.

“The most complete and valuable”. It was not just another donation. Nor did it come in a normal context. in words from Holguín the collection was “the most complete and valuable” sample “of the industry of the aborigines of Colombia.”

With it, his Government wanted to thank Spain for its arbitration in a border dispute between Colombia and Venezuela that was resolved in favor of the former. Holguín’s words were certainly not misguided. Today known as “Treasure of the Quimbayas” stands out for its articles of gold and tumbagaan alloy that combines the precious metal with copper.

And what kind of treasure is it? “It is made up of a typology of objects related to the consumption of hallucinogens and the adornment of the body of the chiefs,” remember from the Ministry of Culture. The most popular pieces, however, are those that represent six chiefs adorned with jewels, four men and two women, one of them pregnant. The treasure rested in the National Archaeological Museum until 1941, when the Museum of America. It took a little longer to reach its current location. It didn’t happen until the ’60s.

A letter to Madrid. That 131 years have passed since the donation of Holguín does not mean that the situation of the Quimbaya treasure has left the Colombian political agenda. In 2017 its Constitutional Court agreed to claim his return to Spain and ordered the Executive, then headed by Juan Manuel Santosto take the necessary steps to recover the 122 pieces. Neither Santos nor Ivan Duque They wanted to open the melon of the old treasure, but Gustavo Petro’s team has decided to resume the lawsuit.

His most notable media move came last May, when the Colombian Minister of Culture, Juan David Correaand the chancellor Luis Gilberto Murillothey signed a letter addressed to their Spanish counterparts in which they argued the need for the pieces to return to Colombia.

Hence the country requested them officially. He did it by raising the order of 2017but also issues such as the “decolonization of museums”, “cultural sovereignty” or “the recognition of the rights of peoples”.

When silence is not worth it. The case could have ended there, in a formal petition, a few headlines and a fleeting debate that fades as the months go by. In fact, and despite the fact that the Spanish Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun, has advocated in the past for reviewing the museum network to “overcome the colonial framework”everything indicates that this was the strategy proposed by the Spanish Executive.

At least that’s how Colombia seems to interpret it, which has decided to knock on the door of Moncloa again. As? With a second letter, as it progressed a few days ago Clarion.

“It is important to insist”. Bogotá has decided to make a move precisely because of “the lack of response to the letter sent on May 9” and makes it clear that it will not accept silence as a response. “It is important to insist that they answer us. We want a conversation and explain, not only to the Spanish Government, but to the Spanish citizens, why we are demanding this,” fences the Minister of Cultures, Juan David Correa, in a statement collected by the newspaper. And adds: “We are not going to stop insisting, we are not going to stop telling Spain that we need a more horizontal conversation.”

The focus of the controversy. The controversy not only revolves around what was donated in 1893, but, above all, how it was donated. Government sources consulted by The Country they allege that the treasure rests in Spain due to a donation, not the result of plunder, and therefore the State is its owner with all of the law.

What’s more, remember that the 122 pieces belong to the national heritageso it is not in the hands of the Minister of Culture to decide what is done with it. In Bogotá they emphasize another key issue: the conditions under which the donation was made in 1893.

The treasure arrived in Spain in 1892 to join an exhibition and only a few months later it was Holguín who decided to give it to the Spanish Crown. In Colombia they argue that this donation did not respect the law nor did it have the support of the people. “It is a spurious gift that a president made at the end of the 19th century in a manner without consultation and abuse; this collection had left the country for an exhibition, not with the purpose of being donated,” reasons the current Minister of Culture. “This abuse of power persists.”

“With your back to the country”. That has been the main argument put forward by the Colombian Executive to reinforce its position, a reasoning that they have emphasized over the last few months.

“This gift in quotes was given under absolutely anomalous, secret conditions, with its back turned to the country, to the constitution of 1886, in an obtuse, quite unclear and illegitimate manner,” Correa insists in statements reported by the BBC and before emphasizing that “the return would mean something symbolically very important, an act of historical reparation.”

The Country slide that Madrid does not want to enter into confrontation and its idea would be to reach a friendly agreement, one that would allow, for example, the treasure to return for a temporary exhibition.

Image | Ángel M. Felicísimo (Flickr) and Ministry of Culture-Museum of America

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