Restitution of a 2,500-year-old piece of cultural property to Peru

Bern, 08.02.2023 - The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) delivered a significant archaeological piece of cultural property today to the Embassy of Peru in Switzerland. The piece, a stone head weighing almost 200 kg from the Chavín culture, was confiscated as part of cantonal criminal proceedings. The restitution took place at Basel-Weil am Rhein customs office in the context of the implementation of the Federal Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Property (CPTA).

Carine Bachmann, Director of the FOC, presented the cultural property to Peruvian Ambassador s. E. Luis Alberto Castro Joo at Basel-Weil am Rhein customs office for transfer to its state of origin. The piece had previously been confiscated during cantonal criminal proceedings.

The cultural property, which had not been declared as such when imported in 2016, was discovered at Basel-Weil am Rhein customs office. The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) then contacted the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property at the FOC, which reviewed the case. It determined that the roughly 200kg and 2,500-year-old stone head from the pre-Hispanic Chavín culture (ca. 1200 to 550 B.C.) originates in what is now Peru. That makes it a significant piece of cultural property that should have been declared as such when it was imported. The non-declaration or false declaration of cultural property is a breach of the Federal Act on the International Transfer of Cultural Property (CPTA) and led in this instance to criminal proceedings by Basel City Public Prosecutor’s Office. This resulted in an order to definitively confiscate the piece.

Peru is heavily affected by the plundering and destruction of archaeological sites. That includes pre-Columbian pieces such as the returned sculpture, which are among Peru's most endangered categories of cultural property. Switzerland and Peru are signatories of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. This restitution underlines the shared commitment of Switzerland and Peru to combating the illegal transfer of cultural property, which was strengthened further in 2016 with the coming into force of a bilateral agreement on the import and repatriation of cultural property.

Further information is available on the FOC website at: www.bak.admin.ch/kgt


Address for enquiries

Fabienne Baraga, Head of the Specialized Body for the International Transfer of Cultural Property, Federal Office of Culture FOC, +41 58 465 73 05, kgt@bak.admin.ch

Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS), Communication, +41 58 462 67 43, medien@bazg.admin.ch

Embajada del Perú en Suiza / Embassy of Peru in Switzerland, Augusto Lamas Godoy, First Secretary, alamas@embaperu.ch



Publisher

Federal Office of Cultural Affairs
http://www.bak.admin.ch

Federal Office for Customs and Border Security
https://www.bazg.admin.ch

https://www.admin.ch/content/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-92892.html