A gold mask dating back more than 1,000 years to a pre-Inca civilization in northern Peru will be returned home next year after being turned in to police by a collector in Italy, a museum official said Friday.
The well-preserved mask, measuring 14 inches (35 centimeters) long by 8.7 inches (22 centimeters) wide, represents the sea god Naylamp from the Sican culture, Carlos Elera, director of the National Sican Museum in Peru, told Reuters by telephone.
“It’s authentic. It’s classic Sican, gold with deep red mercury sulfide which had religious importance in the beliefs of the ancient Peruvians,” Elera said.
The Sican, or Lambayeque, culture flourished on Peru’s northern coast 1,200 years ago. Countless archaeological finds made the area a magnet for looters for many years.
There is no record of the mask having been stolen from any museum or private collection in Peru, and Elera said it could have been taken out of the country in the 1960s or 1970s after being sold to foreign collectors by grave-robbers.
Peru’s embassy in Italy said the mask was handed over by its owner after joint diplomatic and police efforts. It gave no further details.
“It’s very likely it will be returned at the end of January 2005,” Elera said. The mask will then be displayed in the National Sican Museum alongside 250 other gold artifacts.
