The news feeds on this site are independently provided by Adfero Limited © and do not represent the views or opinions of the World Gold Council.

Wednesday, 25th February 2009 (958 views)

A number of gold objects have been donated to Mexico by a private collector, it has been revealed.

In total, the hoard of 8,000 artefacts dating from the pre-Hispanic era that were collected by US dentist Miguel Leoff and his wife Nadine Vinot have been given to the country, AFP reports.

The items are now being studied and classified at the Xochicalco museum.

Archaeology director at the museum Marco Antonio described the moment he first saw the objects, stating: "It literally took my breath away as I opened case after case to discover these objects in tortoiseshell, jade, serpentine and gold."

The collection will be exhibited in Mexico in 2010 before then being displayed in other countries.

Meanwhile, a number of gold objects are on display at the newly-reopened Iraqi National Museum.

Thousands of items were looted from the museum during the 2003 conflict, but many have now been recovered.

 

« Back to Gold News stories