President Martin Vizcarra on Monday took part in the presentation ceremony of Sican Mask —an emblematic piece of the Lambayeque (Sican) Culture that Germany has returned as a sign of cooperation to combat illicit trafficking in cultural property.
According to the Head of State, his administration will continue its efforts to repatriate objects of cultural property from different parts of the globe.
The ceremony was attended by Peru's Cabinet Chief Cesar Villanueva, as well as Ministers Nestor Popolizio (Foreign Affairs), Patricia Balbuena (Culture), and Rogers Valencia (Foreign Trade and Tourism).
The Sican Mask returned to Peru after nearly 20 years of judicial proceedings, in which the country had to prove the authenticity of the cultural piece.
As is known, the artifact was seized by an Interpol office in Wiesbaden (Germany) in 1999 after being illegally taken out of the Inca nation.
"I'm happy to receive one of the most emblematic goods of
Peru's northern cultures, a Sican Mask. I thank the German (Federal) Court of Justice for their impeccable performance in the judicial proceedings," the official stated at that time.
Balbuena also thanked "the Bavarian (State) Office of Criminal Investigation —which guarded the cultural good— and all authorities, as well as our Foreign Affairs Ministry, which took part in this long journey that came to an end today with the delivery of Sican Mask."
Sican Mask
Made of hammered sheet gold alloy, the mask represents Naylamp —a mythological character and founder of the Lambayeque civilization's sovereign dynasty.
It was discovered in 1991 and meticulously studied by Japanese archaeologist Izumi Shimada.