RED LIST OF

COLOMBIAN
CULTURAL OBJECTSAT RISKIAN
OF COLOMBTS AT RISKCEJBOLAR
CULTU

RED LIST

Illegal excavation of archaeological sites (guaquería)
severs the connection between an object and its
context, preventing proper identification of theartefact and diminishing its cultural meaning. As aresult, the scientific study of looted sites is very
limited since information essential for reconstructing ways of life has been destroyed.
Thefts from museums, churches, libraries andarchives irreparably damage the integrity ofcollections, leaving gaps that distort the historical
record.

Three thousand pre-Columbian items seized in 2004,
by the Administrative Department of Security,from a U.S. trafficker living in Colombia.
© Instituto Colombiano de Antropología e Historia (ICANH)

Colombia’s National Campaign against Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property seeks to protect
Colombian heritage from such criminal acts, implementing its strategies through national andinternational agreements. It provides both courses and on-line training dedicated to spreading
knowledge about movable cultural heritage, and to enhancing its appreciation, conservation
and use. It also aims to strengthen legislation, and to publish guides, posters and informativebrochures. ICOM contributes to these efforts with this Red List.

If you suspect that a cultural object from Colombia may be stolen, looted or illegally exported,
please contact:
Ministry of Culture,
Directorate of Heritage

Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Department of Cultural Affairs

National Police, Cultural Heritage
Criminal Investigative Unit

Carrera 8 No. 8-09, Bogotá
Tel: (57-1) 342 4100
E-mail:patrimonio@mincultura.gov.cowww.mincultura.gov.co

Carrera 5 No. 9-03, Bogotá
Tel: (57-1) 381 4000
E-mail:cooperacioncultural@cancilleria.gov.cowww.minrelext.gov.co

Av. Eldorado No. 75-25, Bogotá
Tel: (57-1) 426 6228
E-mail:gipacdijin@hotmail.com

Introduction

PurposeThrough several of its institutions, the governmentof Colombia has enhanced and strengthened thelegal framework for the protection of the nation’scultural heritage. Despite these efforts, however,cultural objects, especially those from pre-Hispanicand Colonial periods, remain subject to illicit
trafficking at national and international levels.

This Red List is intended to help museums, art
dealers, collectors, customs and police officials
identify objects that may have been illicitly exported
from Colombia. In order to facilitate identification,
the Red List describes various categories of cultural
items that are likely to be illegally bought and sold.

Theft, looting, and illegal trade and export are
constant threats to cultural heritage preservation.
The fight against illicit trafficking in cultural property is therefore a policy priority of Colombia.
Archaeological heritage, including underwater
heritage, is the most endangered category,especially in remote regions of Colombia.
Clandestine excavation and smuggling are responses to demand created by the international
antiquities market, which has expanded recently,fuelled by Internet sales and other factors.

Colombian law prohibits the export and sale ofthese object types. Therefore museums, auction
houses, art dealers and collectors are encouraged
not to acquire them without having thoroughly
checked their origin and relevant legal documentation.
Due to the great diversity of objects, styles andperiods, the Red List of Colombian Cultural Objects
at Risk is not exhaustive. Any antiquity that could
have originated in Colombia should be subjected
to detailed scrutiny and precautionary measures.

Other vulnerable objects are those of a religious
and documentary nature, which are frequently
stolen from churches, museums, archives andlibraries.
Illicit trafficking in cultural property causes
irreparable damage to the identity of theColombian people and is a serious loss to thememory of mankind.

Legislation protecting Colombian movable cultural property:
POLITICAL CONSTITUTION OF COLOMBIA, 1991

INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS

NATIONAL LAWSUNESCO Convention of 14 November 1970
on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing
the Illegal Import, Export and Transferof Ownership of Cultural Property (Law No. 63, 1986)

Law No. 103, 1931
Law No. 163, 1959
Law No. 80, 1989
Law No. 397, 1997 amended by Law No. 1185, 2008
Law No. 594, 2000
REGULATIONS
Decree No. 833, 2002
Decree No. 763, 2009
Resolution No. 0395, 2006

The Hague Convention of 14 May 1954
for the Protection of Cultural Property
in the Event of Armed Conflict (Law No. 340, 1996)
and the second Protocol of 26 March 1999
(Law No. 1130, 2007)
Decision of the Andean Community No. 588, 2004
UNIDROIT Convention of 24 June 1995
on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects(Law No. 1304, 2009)

Resolution No. 0983, 2010

BILATERAL AGREEMENTS

INTER-ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTPeru (Law No. 16, 1992), Ecuador (Law No. 587, 2000),Bolivia (Law No. 1018, 2006),
United States of America (2006), Panama (2007),
Paraguay (2008), Uruguay (2008), Switzerland (2010).

for the Execution of Administrative Functions
to Counter Illicit Trafficking in Cultural Property

R E DL I S TO F

C O L O M B I A N

THE RED LIST INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES:(The photographs do not depict stolen objects; they serve only to illustrate thecategories of objects which are particularly vulnerable to illicit traffic.)

PRE-HISPANIC PERIOD(16,000 BC - 1600 AD)

Stone

1
1. Zoomorphic pectoral, Tairona,
1000-1500 AD, 24 x 5 cm.
2. Monolithic statue, San Agustín,
1-900 AD, 106 x 70 cm.
© Instituto Colombianode Antropología e Historia (ICANH)

2

Carved artefacts made of stone of various kinds and colours.
a) Tools such as axes, awls/punches and grinding stones.
b) Ritual objects such as necklace beads, masks and pectorals.
[illus. 1]c) Monolithic sculptures of various sizes. [illus. 2]d) Rock art fragments, both pictographs and petroglyphs.

3Ceramics
Objects made of baked clay, of various shapes, functions andfinishes.
4a) Utensils such as spindle whorls, graters, strainers and vessels.
[illus. 3-4]b) Sculptures and containers of human, animal or plant shape.
[illus. 5]c) Ritual objects such as decorative stamps, seals and funerary urns.

3. Container with external painting, Nariño, 850-1500 AD, 25.5 x 15 cm.
4. Bowl with internal and external painting, Muisca, 600-1600 AD,
28 x 28 cm.
5. Fragment of anthropomorphic figure (head), Tumaco, 500 BC-500 AD,
19 x 11 cm.
© ICANH

Wood
Hardwood anthropomorphic sculptures and other objects, mainlystools and chairs, canes, needles, shuttles, sarcophagi, and swordsof palm tree wood. [illus. 6]

Human remainsa) Mummies wrapped in textiles or covered with masks. [illus. 7]b) Bones found separately or in ceramic funerary urns.
Note: some skulls show intentional deformation.

Paleontological remains
Fossils and petrified plant or animal matter. [illus. 8]566. Stool, Calima, 600-300 BC, 50 x 45 cm.
© ICANH
77. Mummy, Muisca,
600-1600 AD, 76 x 65 cm.
© Museo del Oro, Banco
de la República de Colombia Clark M. Rodríguez
8. Mastodon molar,Los Patios (North Santander),16,000-10,000 BC, 12 x 9 cm.
© ICANH
8C

U L T U R A L

O B J E C T S

TextilesTextiles with geometric designs. They mainly come from funeraryofferings. [illus. 9]A T

9. Cotton bag (mochila),Guane, 1300-1600 AD,
30 x 20 cm.
© ICANH

9Metalwork

10. Gold nose ring, Tairona,
1000-1500 AD, 8.2 x 4.6 cm.
© ICANH

Ornaments of gold, tumbaga (copper and gold) and otheralloys, either cast, hammered or welded, with representations of
10animal, human or plant shapes. They include pendants, hoops
or ear ornaments, pectorals, nose rings, necklace beads, caneheads, disks, miniature sculptures, masks, poporos (containers
12for lime used in chewing coca), needles, spirals and buttons.
[illus. 10-11-12]
12. Gold diadem with bird
11. Necklace with gold bird-shaped beads,
Quimbaya, 500-900 AD, 23.4 cm.
© ICANHR I S K

figures, Muisca,
600-1600 AD,
15.7 x 23 cm.
© ICANH

11

COLONIAL AND REPUBLICAN PERIODS(16th century - mid-20th century)

13

Ceramics and glass
Pieces decorated with initials, captions and images of scenes orportraits; sculpted and coloured glassware. They include crockery,trays, ewers, washbowls, chamber pots, spittoons, pharmacy
jars, centrepieces, lamps and vases. [illus. 13]

13. Bavarian porcelain,ca. 1850, soup tureen:
28 x 38 x 15 cm.
© Museo Mercedes Sierrade Pérez “El Chicó”
16

Painting
On canvas, wood, metal or ivory. Wooden frames, carved, gilded,inlaid with bone, nacre or shell.

16. Oil on canvas,by Gregorio Vásquez de Arcey Ceballos, 1697,
156 x 118 cm.
© Museo Colonial de Bogotá
17. Oil on wood, anonymous,ca. 1700, 44.5 x 63.8 cm.
© Museo Nacionalde Colombiaa) Secular images such as portraits, miniatures, military scenes,landscapes and still-lifes. [illus. 14-15]b) Religious images of virgins, angels, saints and representationsof Christ. [illus. 16-17]141517

14. Oil on canvas, by José María Espinosa, ca. 1850, 81 x 121 cm.
15. Watercolour on ivory, by José Gabriel Tatis Ahumada, 1857, 8 x 6 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia

R E DL I S TO F

C O L O M B I A N

CSculpturea) Figures of carved wood, articulated, undressed or withglued textiles, with polychrome floral and plant decorations.
Representations of the Virgin, Christ Child, Christ, saints, andnativity figures. They may have metal masks, glass eyes and silver
accessories. [illus. 18-19]

1918b) Figures of plaster, marble and metal, with allegorical andcommemorative subjects. [illus. 20]
20
Plaster figure, by Dionisio Cortés, undated, 37 x 41 x 25 cm.
© Museo del Siglo XIX - María Antonieta García Restrepo

18. Immaculate Conception figure, by Bernardo de Legarda,
18th century, 64 x 20 x 38 cm. © Museo Colonial de Bogotá
19. Crucifixion, anonymous, ca. 1750, 98.5 x 74.5 x 24.5 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia

Documents, books and maps
Manuscripts, typed and printed documents on paper or parchment.
They may be loose pages or bound, sometimes in leather or skin,and bearing the seal of the depository archive or library.
a) Books, scores and choir books illustrated in colour or in black
and white, or without illustrations. [illus. 21-22]b) Maps and plans drawn or printed, in colour or in black andwhite. [illus. 23-24]21c) Documents: folios with seals, signatures or letterheads. [illus. 25]
2324

Graphic and photographic works

23. Map of Pandi, Cunday and Melgar boundaries,anonymous, 1776, 41.7 x 30.8 cm.
24. Map of Colombia, drawn by J. Finlayson and engravedin colour by J. Yeager in Philadelphia, 1822, 44 x 56 cm.
25. Manuscript certificate of release of a slave,signed by the Governor of Ocaña, 1851, 35 x 23 cm.
© Archivo General de la Nación

25

Themes are religion, everyday life, landscapes, caricatures andportraits.

26. Lithograph in colour,by Ramón Torres Méndez,
1878, 27 x 35.5 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia26a) Plates, drawings, sketches, watercolours, illustrations
and engravings on paper. [illus. 26-27]b) Photography on metal and glass (daguerreotype and ambrotype). [illus. 28]27

28. Ambrotype, anonymous,ca. 1870, 7.3 x 12.5 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia
28

Watercolour on paper,by Manuel María Paz, 1855, 23 x 31 cm.
© Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia

22
21. Bible, translated by Casiodoro de Reina,
printed in Basel, 1569, 26 x 18 cm.
22. Book, by Nikolaus Joseph Freiherr von Jacquin,
printed and illuminated in Vienna, 1763, 48 x 24 cm.
© Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia

U L T U R A L

O B J E C T S

Objects of iron, copper, bronze, silver and gold, hammered,engraved, embossed or cast; for liturgical or daily use, such as
monstrances, incense burners, ciboria, chalices, sceptres, crowns,wings, rays of light, halos, rosaries, crescents, candlesticks, vessels,cutlery, stirrups, boxes, canons and bullets. [illus. 29-30]

Furniture
Furniture made of carved and assembled wood, sometimes
decorated with inlaid ivory, bone or shell. It may be upholsteredin textile, leather, Gobelin tapestry or silk. It includes Spanish desks(bargueños), chests, boxes, sewing boxes, writing desks, mirrors,tables, chairs, folding screens and altarpieces. [illus. 31-32]

R I S K

29. Silver lectern, New Granada Workshop,
18th century, 35 x 31 x 30 cm.
© Museo Colonial de Bogotá

29Metals

A T30

30. Gold civic wreath offered by the people of Cuzco to the Liberator
Simón Bolívar, Chungapoma, ca. 1825, 7.5 x 22 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia
3132
31. Writing desk, 18th century, 42 x 67 x 29 cm.
32. Writing desk (arquilla), 18th century, 41 x 27 x 44 cm.
© Museo Colonial de BogotáTextilesa) Liturgical garments decorated with plant designs andChristian symbols, metallic and silk embroidery, and preciousstones. They include chasubles, dalmatics, stoles, capes, banners
and altar cloths. [illus. 33]

3334b) Flags and accessories for military use. [illus. 34]

Numismaticsa) Coins of gold, silver, copper and alloys, hammered or stamped,sometimes with irregular edges, marked by the mints withabbreviations such as NR (Nuevo Reino de Granada) and P or Pn(Popayán), symbols used by the Spanish Crown or representationsof the Republic. [illus. 35-36]b) Medals minted in different metals, commemorative of ahistorical event.

3536c) Banknotes or State-issued notes, of different sizes, withallegorical engravings. [illus. 37]37
37. Banknote worth
twenty-five pesos, National Bank,
1895, 7.6 x 18.2 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia

33. Silk chasuble, 18th century, 114 x 76 cm.
© Museo Colonial de Bogotá Universidad Externado de Colombia
34. Gran Colombia flag of the Battalionof the Hussars of the Centre,ca. 1824, 73 x 78 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia
35. Gold coin worth one peso,
Bogotá Mint, 1826, Ø 1.7 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia
36. Silver coin worth eight reales,
New Kingdom of Granada Mint,
1762, Ø 3.8 cm.
© Banco de la República

38

39

Instruments and equipment
For scientific, technological and industrial use. For example,
medical, optical, and weighing and measuring instruments,
barometers, plumb bobs, compasses, chronometers, astrolabes,
octants, sextants, scales, telegraphs and telephones. [illus. 38-39]

38. Solar sextant, ca. 1823, 33.5 x 41 x 6.2 cm.
39. Telegraph transmission model, ca. 1865, 19.5 x 22 x 5.7 cm.
© Museo Nacional de Colombia

ICOM AND THE PROTECTION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE

The International Council of Museums (ICOM), created in 1946 to represent museums and museum
professionals worldwide, is committed to the promotion and protection of natural and cultural heritage,
present and future, tangible and intangible. With a unique network of over 40,000 members in 138
countries and territories (2018), ICOM is active in a wide range of museum-and heritage-related disciplines.
ICOM maintains formal relations with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization(UNESCO) and has a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)
as an expert in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural goods. ICOM also works in collaboration withorganisations such as INTERPOL and the World Customs Organization (WCO) to carry out some of its
international public service missions.
The protection of heritage in the event of natural disaster or armed conflict is also at the core ofICOM’s work, thanks to its Disaster Risk Management Committee (DRMC) and through its strong
involvement in the international Blue Shield. ICOM has the ability to mobilise expert networks
in the field of cultural heritage from all over the world thanks to its numerous programmes.

The Red Lists have been designed as practical tools to curb the illegal trade in cultural objects. ICOM
is grateful for the unwavering commitment of the experts and institutions who generously contributeto the success of the Red Lists.

The Red Lists are available at the following address: http://redlist.icom.museum

With the generous support of:U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs
Washington, D.C.

22, rue de Palestro - 75002 Paris - France
Tel.: +33 (0)1 47 34 05 00 - Fax: +33 (0)1 43 06 78 62
E-mail: illicit-traffic@icom.museum - Website: http://icom.museum© 2010, ICOM, all rights reserved. - Graphic design: TTT, 11/2010. Cover: Anthropomorphic ceramic figurine, Quimbaya, 500-900 AD, 24 x 16 cm. © ICANH

In 2013, ICOM created the first International Observatory on Illicit Traffic in Cultural Goods in order toreinforce its action in fighting illicit traffic.