Mysterious Underworld Portal Statue, Stolen in Early 1900s, Found in Denver
Sometime in the early 20th century—no one knows the exact date—thieves stole a 2,700-year-old treasure from the Olmec people. The Olmecs were one of the first big civilizations in North America, based in Mexico. The stolen item was a big stone mask, about six feet tall and five feet wide. It's called an Olmec Cave Mask, or a Portal al Inframundo (“passage to the underworld”). It shows the Olmec jaguar god Tepeyollotlicuhti, with wide-open eyes and a big open mouth.
This mask came from a place called Chalcatzingo in the Mexican state of Morelos. That area is well-known for Olmec art and symbols. After it was stolen, the mask traveled for many years. It moved between museums and private owners in the United States. In 2023, it ended up in Denver. Then, experts from the Antiquities Trafficking Unit in New York City got it back. A few months later, the mask went home to Mexico.
“This incredible, ancient piece is a rare window into the past of Olmec society,” New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a press statement at the time. “Like many other looted antiquities, the Olmec Cave Mask was broken into several different pieces to make the smuggling process simpler.”
The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) is part of Mexico's Ministry of Culture. They are in charge of fixing the mask. They say it was broken into 25 pieces. Experts are working on it right where it is to “provide greater stability and coherent visual reading,” according to a press release.
“Some elements that make it up are original, but others, such as a metal structure based on bolts, cement reinforcements and replacements of missing parts and shapes, were added to give it stability again, even though the techniques and materials were not the most appropriate,” INAH’s Castro Barrera said in a statement translated into English.
Some of those added parts will probably stay on the mask.
This amazing piece of history might never have come back to Mexico without the hard work of archaeologist David Grove. He was the first to connect this mask to the one missing from Chalcatzingo. Later, INAH's Mario Córdova Tello proved it was stolen. He even found it in Colorado with a private owner in 2008. Sadly, Grove—who helped so much—died the day before the mask got back to Mexico.
The Tepeyollotlicuhti mask is just one example. Many valuable old items have been stolen from their home countries. They now sit in collections and museums around the world—sometimes people know they're stolen, sometimes not. But more and more, museums are being pushed to give them back. Maybe one day, those items will go home too.
