Bolivia recovers pre-Columbian vessels traded for refrigerator

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Bolivian government presented Wednesday two pre-Columbian vessels donated to the Bolivian Embassy in the Netherlands by a Dutch geologist who traded a refrigerator for the two relics in the 1970s.

In a ceremony at the Bolivian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two vessels were handed over in the presence of the Minister of Cultures and Depatriarchalization, Sabina Orellana, Bolivian Ambassador to the Netherlands, Roberto Calzadilla, and Foreign Minister Rogelio Mayta.

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Calzadilla said that Dutch geologist Ever Breman visited Bolivia on expeditions in the 1970s and carried out a “swap” in the city of Tacacoma, in the province of Larecaja, in the department of La Paz, in which he received the two vessels in exchange for a refrigerator.

The geologist returned the two pieces to the Bolivian Embassy in the Netherlands in 2018, and now the official handover of the pieces to the Ministry of Cultures has taken place.

The two ceramics belong to the Mollo culture and date from between 700 and 1,400 A.D. They come from the archaeological site of Iskanwaya and the interandine valleys, from a “post-Tihuanaco” period, Calzadilla said.

Orellana added that the two pieces were thoroughly analyzed to determine that they are authentic prehispanic ceramics.

“With the recovery of these two vessels, we reaffirm our commitment to recover the essence of our customs and traditions,” Orellana stressed.

“Both vessels will be displayed at the National Museum of Bolivian Archaeology, where they will be preserved,” she said.

For his part, the Bolivian Foreign Minister said that the recovery of these pieces will help us understand the way of “thinking and feeling in that time.”

He also pointed out the importance of “decolonization” to “recognize ourselves” and consider the value of these pieces to Bolivian cultures.

The Foreign Minister described today as a “day of joy” for the recovery of the two vessels and thanked the Dutch geologist for returning the ceramics to the country, which is still on the path of decolonization.