Why is Moctezuma's Penacho in Austria and not in Mexico ?

Question

Why is Moctezuma's Penacho in Austria and not in Mexico ?

Answer 1

There are a LOT of historic items and works of art displayed in museums worldwide.  Do we return absolutely everything to its village/town/city of origin?  If an item is returned to a country's capital, what then when a small village claims itself to be the rightful owner?

I recall stories after the fall of Saddam Hussein of local looters going into museums and sacred sites and "removing" priceless artifacts which they then sold on the black market.  Could that sort of thing not happen rather easily in Mexico as well??  It's for wiser heads than mine, I suppose, to determine where such irreplaceable artifacts are best displayed.

Also, there seems to be some debate as to whether it actually IS Montezuma's Headpiece.

In this undated article by Reuters News, they discuss the controversy.

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico has asked visiting Austrian President Heinz Fischer to return a 500-year-old Aztec feather headdress that has graced a Vienna museum for decades while Mexicans are stuck with a replica.

Mexican President Vicente Fox and Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Ernesto Derbez both asked Fischer about what legend says was the last Aztec Emperor Moctezuma's headdress, a stunning gold-trimmed artifact made from hundreds of bright green quetzal feathers.

"There was a formal request. They discussed the possibility of finding ways to get back this pre-Hispanic piece, which has become a symbol of the fight for Mexican heritage in foreign museums," government spokesman Ruben Aguilar told reporters on Tuesday.

"It's a complicated problem that involves international laws and rules governing museum funds," he added.

Nearly a yard wide, the fan-shaped "Penacho de Moctezuma" has long been a bone of contention between the two countries, with Mexico claiming it as its property but Austria refusing to give it back.

The headdress, typical of the ornaments worn by the Aztec nobility, is believed to have been among the trophies Spanish invader Hernan Cortes sent back to Europe after his 1519 invasion of Mexico to encourage further conquest in the New World.

After possibly being plundered by French pirates and remaining in France for decades, it was bought by Austria in 1880. Generations of Tyrolean nobility used it at costume parties before it was put on display in Vienna in 1929.

Some experts say there is no indication it ever belonged to Moctezuma, noting dozens of similar pieces were shipped back to Europe in the 16th century.

Some Austrian legislators recently suggested returning it.

Fischer said it was understandable the question had been raised, but added the issue of returning treasures from colonized countries affected museums across Europe.

"This is not a decision that is within the sphere of the president. There is a text in the Austrian parliament which it should vote on," Fischer said on Monday.

"I think Mexico is conscious of the fact this issue doesn't just affect Austria but all of Europe. It's a question that we should definitely face and discuss," he said.

The dispute has been enlivened in recent years by a Mexican traditional dancer who has led protests demanding the return of the headdress, saying many consider it sacred.

The first Austrian president to visit Mexico, Fischer was meeting government and business officials before a May 2006 summit of European and Latin American nations in Vienna.

He was also due to visit the ancient Teotihuacan pyramids, just north of Mexico City, and Mexico's Anthropology Museum, home to a replica of the contested headdress.