'Portal to underworld' found in Denver: Stolen in early 20th century, it was broken into 25 pieces

A 2,700-year-old treasure of the Mexican-based Olmec that was stolen sometime in the early 20th century has been found. It was the Olmec Cave Mask, also known as a Portal al Inframundo (“passage to the underworld”). Measuring six-foot-by-five-foot, it depicted the Olmec jaguar god Tepeyollotlicuhti with its flaring eyes and gaping mouth, Popular Mechanics reported. After being looted from Chalcatzingo in the Mexican state of Morelos, the statue went around the world. From museums and private collections in the United States, it reached Denver in 2023. The Antiquities Trafficking Unit based in New York City sent its officers to secure the statue, and it ultimately returned to its original location.

New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg released a statement on the matter. He said, “This incredible, ancient piece is a rare window into the past of Olmec society," adding that the "Olmec Cave Mask was broken into several different pieces to make the smuggling process simpler." The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), a part of Mexico's Ministry of Culture, said the statue was broken into 25 pieces. So elements were added to “provide greater stability and coherent visual reading."

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“Some elements that make it up are original, but others, such as a metal structure based on bolts, cement reinforcements and replacements of missing parts and shapes, were added to give it stability again, even though the techniques and materials were not the most appropriate,” INAH’s Castro Barrera said in a statement.

Many artefacts have been taken away from their native land

Archaeologist David Grove was the first to link the Olmec artefact to the one missing from Chalcatzingo. INAH’s Mario Córdova Tello then solved the mystery and eventually proved that it was the same one that had been looted from Mexico. He revealed that the statue was with a private collector. The Tepeyollotlicuhti portal is not the only piece of artefact that was removed from its native land and placed in museums and collections at other places. Lately, there has been pressure on museums to return such pieces to the original countries.