Antiquities Returning to Mexico Include Mayan Vase Sold for $4 in US Store

A Mayan vase over 1,000 years old and purchased for about four dollars at a Washington area thrift shop, will return to Mexico, at the Cultural Institute of Mexico in Washington on this handout distributed on June 20, 2024. (National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)/Handout via Reuters)

MEXICO CITY—The Mexican government will welcome back 20 cultural artifacts that date to the country’s storied ancient past, all found in the United States including a Mayan vase over 1,000 years old and purchased for about $4 at a Washington area thrift shop.

Mexico’s antiquities institute INAH announced the repatriation, which also include centuries-old plates, bowls as well as sculpted figures belonging to the Aztec, Totonac, and Teotihuacan cultures, in a statement on Thursday.