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Mayan relic sold for $4 million is a fake?

A sculpture of a Mayan warrior, released March 23, 2011 by auctioneer company Binoche et Giquello, that sold for more than $4 million at a Paris auction house on Monday March 21, 2011. REUTERS/Handout/Pierre-Yves Dhinaut/Binoche et Giquello SVV

A sculpture of a Mayan warrior, released March 23, 2011 by auctioneer company Binoche et Giquello, that sold for more than $4 million at a Paris auction house on Monday March 21, 2011.

Credit: Reuters/Handout/Pierre-Yves Dhinaut/Binoche et Giquello SVV

MEXICO CITY | Wed Mar 23, 2011 11:25am EDT

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A sculpture of a Mayan warrior that sold for more than $4 million at a Paris auction house this week is a fake, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History said.

The masked, stone figure, sold by a private collector, was billed as an impressive piece of Pre-Columbian art and was believed to be a unique work dating from around 550 to 950 A.D. It sold for 2.9 million euros ($4.1 million) on Monday.

But Mexican experts at the institute who studied the auction catalog said the piece, a warrior holding a shield and weapon and wearing a turban-like hat, had been made recently and was carefully carved to give an ancient appearance. Another 66 pieces in the auction also were fakes, they said.

"The figure tries to recreate the Pre-Columbian features of the Maya region in southeastern Mexico but the height, the posture of the flexed legs and the boot straps are not characteristic of this culture," the institute said in a statement.

Mexico's Foreign Ministry said it had contacted the French government prior to the auction to alert it to the fraud.

(Reporting by Armando Tovar and Robin Emmott; Editing by Bill Trott)
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Comments (4)
Bahooka wrote:
Mexico has a poor record in proving the facts and unable to prove their rights to these artifacts, the govt. is embarrassed and are trying to discourage the auctions by saying the pieces are fakes – it is the Mexican way. The same goes with prosecuting narcos – most are freed because the courts can’t prove their guilt.

Mar 23, 2011 2:31pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
mrjerrytheb wrote:
You would think that the auction house would have their own experts to check out the authenticity of anything they sell. Just goes to show you “buyer beware”!!!!!!!!

Mar 23, 2011 3:39pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
griezzel wrote:
obviously a piece made of clay, not stone. modeled and painted, not carved.

Mar 23, 2011 7:37pm EDT  --  Report as abuse
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