Sharon Lorenzo’s The Many Lives of a Work of Art: Part Five
In our world today, gifts of state are often exchanged as a matter of diplomatic negotiation between nations and heads of state. This practice has been going on for centuries, and today there are a few cases where the countries of origin are calling for the return of their national treasures or surrendering them to their current owners as gifts of state.
One of the most outstanding examples involves the feather headdress that allegedly belonged to the Aztec Emperor in Mexico City, Moctezuma II, who was overthrown by the Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes in 1519. The headdress is made of quetzal parrot feathers, spoonbill wings, and the fur of a squirrel cuckoo. The creator wove all these together with golden threads. Historian Zelia Nuttall found an image of this wonderful work in a Spanish book called the Codex Borbonicus. Apparently, Cortes took the headdress back to Spain after his successful conquest, and the Spanish King, Charles II, gave it to the Archduke Ferdinand of Austria in 1596 as the Spanish rulers merged forces with the Hapsburg empire through marriages and negotiations. Today the headdress resides in the Museum of Ethnology in Vienna which refuses to return same to Mexico. President Obrador even sent his wife Beatriz over from Mexico City to personally take it back, and they turned her away in 2020 saying it was too fragile to travel.
Headdress of Moctezuma II, 16th century.
Codex Borbonicus, 16th century.
Yet another example of colonial conquest and cultural diplomacy is the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond on the crown of the English queens since the reign of Victoria in 1849. In the Persian language it means “mountain of light.” While the British ruled most of India in the 19th century, this 191 carat diamond was given to Queen Victoria during the reign of Maharaja Duleep Singh with the annexation of Punjab in 1849 by the British East India Company and sewn onto the Queen’s crown in London. It has been modified a bit but still shines today as the world’s largest diamond in the jewel house in the Tower of London. In 2018, the Supreme Court of India clarified that the diamond was surrendered to the British and need not be returned to India.
Queen Elizabeth with the Diamond Crown
191 Carat Koh-i-Noor Diamond
One of the most wonderful stories of cultural diplomacy happened after Napoleon of France placed his brother Joseph on the throne of Spain in 1808. The English forces under the Duke of Wellington came to the aide of the Spanish, and Joseph was sent home to France in 1813 after the famous Battle of Vitoria. Wellington and his army helped themselves to a few treasures in the Spanish castles including this oil painting by Diego Velazquez called, The Waterseller, which he painted in Seville in 1618. It features an old man giving a cup of water to a young boy with another person watching from behind. Wellington’s army took this painting to the Duke’s home known as the Apsley House. In its archives is a letter from Wellington to the King of Spain, Ferdinand II, in which he offers to return the painting to him as it was looted by his soldiers. The returning correspondence from the King states, “Dear Duke of Wellington, In receipt of your recent letter offering to return my painting of The Waterseller by Velazquez I can only say: You gave me back my country, so you may please keep the Velazquez as a thank you for all your aide and assistance.” It is still on public view in London today for all to enjoy in The Apsley House in Hyde Park.
Diego Velazquez, The Waterseller, 1618-1622, Oil on canvas.
Francisco de Goya, The Duke of Wellington, 1813, oil on canvas.
In conclusion, it is clear that there is not universal agreement on the proper etiquette on the return of national treasures. Loans and exchanges might be a solution so that many nations can share and enjoy these special works of art.
Sources consulted:
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Zelia Nuttall, The Book of the Life of Ancient Mexicans. University of California Press, 1983.
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William Dalrymple, The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond, Juggernaut Books,2016.
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Jose Gudiol, The Complete Paintings of Velazquez, 1599-1660. Greenwich House, 1983.