In 1913, German ethnologist Konrad Theodor Preuss conducted archaeological fieldwork in San Agustín and surrounding areas in southern Colombia. He took away 35 statues, which left Colombia only after the end of the First World War and arrived in Berlin in 1923.
During a forum about cultural heritage held in Bogotá in December 2022, a representative for the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs publicly declared that his country was — finally — requesting the return of 35 statues from the San Agustín culture, currently in the collections of the Humboldt Forum in Berlin.
This announcement, while generating hopes in Colombia, also raises many questions about the future of the statues and the very meaning of the current wave of restitutions of cultural heritage artifacts to their place of origin.
How did these statues end up in the collections of the Humboldt Forum?
Also: At a time when Western museums are critically examining the history of their collections, German museums are returning the so-called Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, and even the British Museum is negotiating the possible return of the Parthenon Marbles to Athens, why are these statues still in Germany?
