A total of 48 pre-Columbian archaeological objects seized by customs in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2016 will be returned to Peru, from where they were illegally extracted, the Swiss government announced on Friday (20.12.2019).
Cultural assets looted from Peru include: 24 pieces of ceramics and carved wooden figures “of incalculable value”, Swiss authorities said in a statement.
The pieces were confiscated by Geneva customs in April 2016 because they had not been declared as cultural property, as stipulated by law, but as personal objects, although most of the pieces belonged to the Chancay culture, which developed on the central Peruvian coast between the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries.
This art is included in the list of «Peruvian assets in danger» established by the International Council of Museums. Its return to the Andean country, decided in October 2018, comes into effect today, following a coordination process between the Swiss and Peruvian authorities.
In 2016, Switzerland and Peru signed an agreement to limit the trade in antiquities and facilitate their restitution when trafficking is illegal, in order to reinforce the international convention that has restricted their export and import since 1970.
Source: Reuters
???? Civilization #Chancay Today, #Switzerland was able to restore the #Peru 48 pre-Columbian pieces of pottery and wooden figures, objects of their archaeological heritage that were derived from illicit trafficking and were seized by customs in 2016 pic.twitter.com/pKSHHd9sTg
— Bénédict de Cerjat (@SwissMFAamerica) December 20, 2019
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