Woman's Rs 330 Vase Purchase Turns Out To Be A 2,000-Year-Old Mayan Artefact, Here's What She Did

A US woman was shocked to discover that a $3.99 (Rs 333) vase she purchased a few years ago from a thrift store was actually a Mayan artefact. Anne Lee Dozier, from Washington, DC, safely returned the 1,200-year-old artefact to its native Mexico. In recognition of her efforts to restore this “historic gem” to its homeland, she was thanked by the Mexican embassy.

The embassy expressed gratitude to Dozier in Spanish, saying, “Thanks to the generosity of Anne Lee Dozier, a US citizen, we recovered a classical vessel, dated between 200 and 800 AD.”

Additionally, they said that the “historical gem will be reintegrated” into the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico.

Dozier said in an interview with CBC’s As It Happens that she discovered the porcelain vase in 2019 close to an American Air Force base at a nearby thrift shop.

Anne Lee Dozier went on to say that she chose to purchase the item since it stood out from the other things on the shelf.

In fact, Anne could tell the vase was clearly from Mexico because she frequently visits there for work. Although Anne didn’t think the vase would be this historical, she informed the news source that she believed it to be between twenty and thirty years old.

After visiting the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City for business in January, Dozier—who works for the human rights organisation Christian Solidarity Worldwide—said something snapped.

Anne Lee Dozier realised that several items she was browsing through looked strikingly similar to those she already owned. Suspecting she had a cultural artefact, Anne asked a museum staff member what steps to take.

Dozier told the radio station that the employee advised her to get in touch with the Mexican embassy upon her return to the USA.

An official from the Mexican embassy, Sergio Aguirre Gamboa, informed the outlet that a protocol had been set up specifically for situations like this in 2021.

Its goal is to stop the selling of archaeological artefacts from Mexico and to foster communication with private organisations and museums in order to restore their cultural heritage.

According to him, Dozier provided images and details about the vase to the embassy, who subsequently forwarded them to Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History for verification.

The vase was identified by experts as an artefact from the Mayan Classic Period, which was created in what is now Southeast Mexico between 200 and 800 A.D.

Dozier stated that officials contacted her in April, stating that “it is real” and requesting its return. After wrapping the vase in a food delivery box stuffed with newspapers, Dozier headed to the Mexican Cultural Institute located in Washington, D.C.

She returned the vessel to the Mexican ambassador in a ceremony.