Canada: RCMP helps return 2,000-year-old Peruvian artefact from Montreal to Peru
Ottawa: A pre-Hispanic bowl believed to be about 2,000 years old is being returned to Peru after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police helped facilitate its voluntary recovery and repatriation from a Montreal auction house.
The Nasca-style bowl was identified in late June after being listed for sale as part of a lot of three bowls.
Peruvian authorities recognised its cultural and historical significance and contacted Global Affairs Canada through a diplomatic note requesting its repatriation under the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the illicit trafficking of cultural property.
Following the request, the Montreal auction house agreed to suspend the sale of the artefact.
The bowl had been acquired by the seller through inheritance. After discussions involving the RCMP, Peruvian government representatives and the possessor, the artefact was voluntarily relinquished and placed in RCMP custody.
The RCMP subsequently transferred the bowl to representatives of the Peruvian Consulate in Montreal on July 16, 2026, for its return to Peru.
The possessor was not financially compensated but received a letter of thanks from the Peruvian government.
The recovery was facilitated through the RCMP’s Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Crime initiative, which works with Canadian and international partners to address the illicit movement of cultural property and support the return of culturally significant artefacts to their countries of origin.
No criminal charges were associated with the recovery or repatriation.
“The bowl itself may be small, but it is part of a much larger story which informs the history of Peru and its people,” RCMP Financial Crime Director Inspector Dawn Morris-Little said. “It is satisfying for us to contribute to its safe return.”
Morris-Little said the repatriation demonstrated the importance of cooperation among law enforcement agencies, governments, cultural institutions and private individuals.
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