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Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Peru. Show all posts

February 10, 2023

Friday, February 10, 2023 - ,,,,, No comments

A 2,500-year-old sculpture from the monumental ruins of Chavín de Huantar is returned to the Peruvian ambassador

The site of Chavín de Huantar

What we know about the monumental ruins of Chavín de Huantar, thousands of feet up in the Cordillera Blanca, the Andean highlands of Peru, is spartan.  Here, members of a pre-Inca culture, left us with what archaeologists believe to be a temple complex, consisting of a maze of ruined granite and sandstone structures – or step pyramids, cyclopean walls, and wonderful carved sculptures which date from around 1000 BCE. 

Already mentioned in the sixteenth-century chronicles of Pedro Cieza de León, the site of Chavín de Huantar, is located kilometers north of Lima.  It's unique architecture resulted in it being declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1985.  

Distinct, not only for its massive flat-topped pyramid temple, but also for what archaeologists call its "cabezas clavas," more commonly called temple nail heads.  These front-facing, pumpkin sized heads, were architectural elements, and were usually carved from volcanic tuff and made to resemble zoomorphic faces.   Used as decoration, they were positioned horizontally and equidistant from each other along the temple walls. 

Usually, these nail heads, carved with open eyes, closed mouths, crushed noses, and contracted muscles. When found intact, they also have an elongated stone extension bracket on the back.  This wedge was used to insert the sculptural element, like a nail, into the structure's wall, hence the name they were given.  Many of the Chavín de Huantar nail heads were originally positioned along the south, east, and west façade of the Chavín temple, garnishing the building in a horizontal row and positioned evenly under the temple's carved stone cornices.   

Some 42 nail heads were originally recorded and identified between 1919 and 1941 by Julio C. Tello, America's first indigenous archaeologist.  Most of which were lost in the aftermath of a 1945 flood that covered the archaeological site.  Others have been lost to looters. 

Over time, as many as 100 complete or almost complete nail heads, discovered after 1950, have been found and preserved from the Chavín culture, with almost all of those accounted for coming from official excavations.  These, are now part of the permanent collection of the National Museum of Chavín.  Sadly, only a single original nail head remains in situ. 

Yesterday, in a ceremony conducted at the Swiss customs office, Basel/Weil am Rhein-Autobahn, the president of the Office fédéral de la culture (OFC), Carine Bachmann, returned a smuggled nail head to Peru's Ambassador HE Luis Alberto Castro Joo.  According to the OFC, this ancient architectural element, which weighs in at nearly 200 kilograms, was discovered by Swiss customs officials during a routine customs control check conducted in 2016 of a courier transporting the object from Germany into Switzerland.

Suspicious of the statements declared by the freight forwarder, who had tried to introduce the artefact into Switzerland as a "non-cultural good," and therefore not subject to specific heritage laws, employees of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security - BAZG,  stopped the object's entry to examine it more closely.  Over time, and with the assistance of heritage experts, the Swiss authorities came to the conclusion that the artefact was, in fact, unregistered cultural property and moved for the artefact's seizure in accordance with the Cultural Property Transfer Act.

Shortly thereafter,  during a cantonal criminal proceeding, an order of confiscation was entered by the Basel public prosecutor in 2017.  This in turn allowed the artefact to be eventually restituted to the Government of Peru in the formal ceremony held yesterday.  

September 8, 2018

Saturday, September 08, 2018 - , No comments

Repatriation: The Sicán funeral mask finally goes home to Peru

Image Credit: Patricia Balbuena
Ministry of Culture Peru
In a legal battle that has taken 19 years of litigation, Germany's Plenipotentiary of the Free State of Bavaria, Dr. Rolf-Dieter Jungk, has turned over the eighth-century pre Columbian gold Lambayeque (Sicán) funerary mask to the Peruvian Culture Minister, Patricia Balbuena, at the Peruvian embassy in Berlin on Thursday. The priceless mask, made of hammered sheet gold alloy, was confiscated in Wiesbaden in 1999.


Decorative masks such as these have been found in tombs in the Lambayeque region of Peru, near the modern city of Chiclayo. As they lack perforations to see with, or holes to breathe through, they are believed to have been created solely as ornaments for the deceased, and likely covered the faces of high status individuals as part of their burial processes.


According to investigations by the Fiscal Police of Peru, the mask is believed to have been smuggled out of Peru sometime in 1997 and was brought to Germany by Aydin Dikmen. Dikmen was arrested in 1998 for his role in selling looted mosaics from the 6th century church of the Virgin of Kanakaria in the village of Lythrangomi sold on to Peg Goldberg in the United States.  The mask was formally confiscated in 1999 by the INTERPOL Office in Wiesbaden, Germany. 
 
Cover article in El Comercio
June 16, 1998
The case for restitution took years, winding its way through the Regional Court of Munich.  In December 2016, the 6th Civil Chamber issued a sentence ordering the release of the Sican Mask, confiscated by the Munich Prosecutor's Office and authorized its delivery to the Peruvian State.

For more information illustrating the search for recorded cultural goods, stolen, auctioned and repatriated from Peru, please follow the excellent writing at Memoria Robada. 

February 14, 2013

Thursday, February 14, 2013 - ,,,, 1 comment

Non-profit Sustainable Preservation Initiative Launching Crowdfunding Campaign for Two Projects in Peru


by Rebekah Junkermeier, Sustainable Preservation Initiative

In two previous guest blog posts in May of 2012, I introduced the unique way the Sustainable Preservation Initiative (SPI), a new 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, approaches the problem of cultural heritage site degradation. Often, this degradation is caused by residents of communities near the site that live far below the poverty line. In an attempt to provide themselves and their family with the essentials, they loot the site or use it for other purposes (grazing animals, growing crops, etc.). SPI fights looting and site devastation by empowering local residents through entrepreneurship. By investing in local businesses whose financial success is tied to preservation of the site, SPI preserves cultural heritage and alleviates poverty in these communities. Eight months later, I’m here not only to report the astounding results of our first two projects at San Jose de Moro, Peru, and Pampas Gramalote, Peru, but also to announce the launch of SPI’s crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo.com to raise money for our two newest projects at Bandurria, Peru, and Chotuna, Peru.

San Jose de Moro
San Jose de Moro is home to one of the most important ancient cemeteries in all of Peru and a ritual center of the ancient Moche civilization, which flourished from 100-800 AD. Excavations have not only uncovered evidence of the Moche’s finely painted ceramics, but also their ritual of human sacrifice. Despite its rich cultural heritage, San Jose de Moro is also home to an impoverished community. Our project there has transformed the lives of local residents, creating over 40 jobs and generating over $16,000 in an impoverished community where the daily wage is only $9.50. Local archaeologists have reported that looting and destructive practices at the site have come to a halt as local residents now view the site as an economic asset.  After just one year of operations, the project is completely economically sustainable, no additional funding needed. 

Our second project at Pampas Gramalote, Peru, is well on its way to the same type of success. It has created 10 permanent jobs through a touristic and artisanal program, with trainees receiving practical lessons on how to carve gourds, their traditional uses in Peru and other countries, and their role at the archaeological site of Pampas Gramalote. It is providing the basis for further nondestructive and sustainable economic development. 2012 year-to-date sales have exceeded $3,000, with over $1,000 of online sales through NOVICA, an online global platform that connects local artisans to customers around the world. With such economic opportunities for local residents, we’re transforming lives in the surrounding community AND preserving its archaeological site.

This week, SPI is launching its first crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo.com to raise the $49,000 needed for our two newest projects in Bandurria and Chotuna, Peru. Both sites are home to poor communities and rich cultural heritage. 

Bandurria Pyramids
Bandurria contains pyramids in Peru older than those of ancient Egypt. Excavations have revealed evidence of the origins of civilzation in the Andes. Chotuna is a 235-acre monumental temple and pyramid complex where several ancient royal tombs have been discovered. Just this past August, archaeologists discovered a remarkable burial over 1,000 years old containing such precious items as pearl and shell beads and gold earspools amongst four corpses -- the face of one covered with a copper sheet. Unlike any other tomb of a revered person in the region, this one was likely built by an ancient water cult and meant to be flooded periodically, perhaps as a means of ensuring the region’s agricultural fertility (see National Geographic article here).

Neither place, however, can afford such basics as running water and electricity or has a sewer system. There are few jobs, little income and no opportunity to escape this cycle of poverty. At Bandurria, our project will construct a communal artisan center where locals can produce their traditional reed weaving handicrafts and train future artisans, creating more local jobs in the community. The project includes a store for the sale of the handicrafts, a snack bar, and clean toilets for tourists. Our project at Chotuna empowers the local textile, gourd carving and other artisans by constructing a facility for artisan training and production as well as a small picnic and sales area for their work near the archaeological site.

By collaborating with local archaeologists, archaeological projects, and the local community, our project aims for nothing short of alleviating poverty and saving these archaeological sites, and we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to come on board.

Help us save sites and transform lives! Click here to makea tax-deductible contribution at indiegogo.com today and spread the word by liking our campaign on Facebook, retweeting us on Twitter, or pinning our project video on Pinterest!

July 17, 2012

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 - ,, No comments

Spotlight on Cultural Property, Art and Antiquities Investigations and Repatriations

By Colette Loll Marvin

On July 12th, I attended a cultural repatriation ceremony at the Embassy of Peru in Washington, DC. The ceremony was conducted in order for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to formally return to the government of Peru 14 stolen and looted cultural paintings and artifact. The items were recovered in 5 separate investigations by special agents of ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Returned to the people of Peru were 9 beautiful 18th century religious paintings from the Cusco region of Peru, a Spanish colonial silver and gilt enamel monstrance from the 1700’s that was stolen from a church altar, and 4 archeological items that date back more than 2,000 years. The return of these items was the culmination of a year’s long investigative effort by ICE special agents, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Interpol, and the State Department’s Cultural Heritage Center.

Participating in the repatriation ceremony were ICE Director John Morton, Peruvian Ambassador to the United States Harold Forsyth, and U.S. Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General James Cole.

“The plundering of cultural property is one of the oldest forms of organized cross-border crime and has become a world-wide phenomenon that transcends frontiers” said ICE Director John Morton. He then added, “Why do we care about cultural heritage crimes when we could be chasing drug smugglers, human traffickers and gang members? If we ignore these crimes, we debase our past.”

“This repatriation is an example of what can be accomplished when law enforcement partners and government leaders from around the world work together in pursuit of a common goal” said Deputy Attorney General James Cole.

Because of the proactive and thorough investigative and undercover work by special agents, these items were able to be returned to their country of origin. Several were up for auction at a Christies, some were being sold at numerous galleries, and still others were offered for sale on EBay. HSI investigations revealed that all of these objects were taken out of Peru in violation of Peruvian law and brought into the U.S. in violation of U.S. Customs law and regulations. Specifically, the items had been removed in violation of a U.S.--Peru bi-lateral agreement negotiated by the U.S. Department of State and enacted in 1997, which restricts the importation of pre-Columbian artifacts and colonial-era religious objects into the United States without proper documentation.

Federal importation laws give HSI the authority to take a leading role in investigating crimes involving the illicit importation and distribution of cultural property and art. Customs laws allow HSI to seize cultural property and art brought into the United States illegally, especially when objects have been reported lost or stolen.

ICE agents bring valuable artworks into the Peruvian Embassy ICE agents inspect works that are intended for repatriation

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