Canada Returns Seized Heritage Artifacts to Peru, Mexico and Colombia |
| OTTAWA, November 28, 1997 -- David Pratt, Member of Parliament for Nepean-Carleton, today announced, on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps, the return of pre-Columbian cultural artifacts to the governments of Peru, Mexico and Colombia during an official ceremony held at the Canadian Conservation Institute in Ottawa. "Canada is delighted to be able to return these objects of great historical significance to their rightful owners," said Mr. Pratt. "No country takes the global struggle against the illicit trade in cultural objects more seriously than Canada." The 83 items returned to Peru include painted ceramic vessels, textiles and feathered objects, some dating back as far as the 5th century A.D. Most of the 20 Mexican items are ceramic vessels and figurines from the states of Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and date from 200 B.C. to 250 A.D. The Colombian material consists primarily of pre-Columbian gold jewelry from the northwest region of Colombia, dating roughly from 1000 to 1500 A.D. All 124 objects are believed to have been looted from tombs and graves in the three countries in question. The objects were intercepted and seized by Revenue Canada customs officers because their importation into Canada was in violation of the Customs Act and the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. Revenue Canada Minister Herb Dhaliwal said, "As Minister responsible for Canada Customs, I am very pleased to see my Department play a role in restoring to Peru, Colombia and Mexico a part of their extremely rich heritage. Our customs officers deserve high praise for their vigilance in recovering these priceless items." The governments of Peru, Mexico and Colombia had taken the position that the artifacts were exported illegally from their countries and had formally requested the return of the material. Canada honoured these requests as part of its participation as a signatory to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Peru, Mexico and Colombia are also signatories to this Convention. The Convention is implemented in Canada by the Department of Canadian Heritage through the Cultural Property Export and Import Act. Present to accept the return of the artifacts from the Government of Canada were: His Excellency Alfonso Lopez Caballero, Ambassador of Colombia; His Excellency Hernan A. Couturier, Ambassador of Peru; and Her Excellency Sandra Fuentes, Ambassador of Mexico. Canada is recognized as a leader in the fight against illicit traffic in cultural property by the international community, as evidenced by its recent election as Chair of UNESCO's Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation. Information: Anne-Sophie Lawless Chief, Media Relations Canadian Heritage (819) 997-9314 Michel Cléroux Media Relations Revenue Canada (613) 957-3504 BACKGROUNDER PERUVIAN ARTIFACTS The 83 items originating in Peru are believed to have been looted from unexcavated tombs and graves at sites on the Peruvian Coast between Nasca, in the south, and Lambayeque, in the north. The majority of the objects are ceramic vessels and textiles. The unusual survival of the highly perishable textiles and the feathers that adorn some of them is due to the cool, dry conditions in the area where the tombs were located. Exact age of most of the textiles is difficult to determine, but those which have been identified with certainty on stylistic grounds date from the so-called "Middle Horizon" a prehistoric period dating from 600 to 1000 A.D. As is normally the case in archaeology, the ceramic items are somewhat easier to ascribe dates to on the basis of style. The ceramics in this group are representative of a range of cultures and dates, with the earliest being from the Cupisnique (1st millennium B.C.) and extending through the Middle Horizon Period to late pre-Incan and pre-Hispanic styles such as the Chimu and Chancay. Other items in this group of artifacts include baskets, wooden weaving swords, slingshots and spindle whorls. This material was seized in two groups in Vancouver in 1985; they had been imported into Canada by an American individual and were destined for the United States. COLOMBIAN AND MEXICAN ARTIFACTS The 19 objects originating in Colombia are all items of pre-Columbian gold jewellery with the exception of two ceramic figures; all are believed to have been looted from tombs and graves, where they had adorned the deceased. Based on the style of the goldwork, it has been identified as belonging to two cultures in the north of the country Sinu and Tairona dating from roughly 1000 to 1500 A.D. The items include pendants, ear and nose ornaments, pectorals and a staff head. The two ceramic figures have been identified with the Quimbaya culture of central western Colombia. The 20 items originating in Mexico are primarily ceramic figures and vessels and two stone items. They include a number of funerary figures most likely from shaft-tombs of the cultures of the Colima, Jalisco and Nayarit regions on the Pacific coast of Mexico, dating from roughly 200 B.C. to 500 A.D. Such tombs have rarely, if ever, been found intact and scientifically excavated. The Mexican and Colombian artifacts were seized together in 1991 from an American individual importing them into Canada. BACKGROUNDER DEPARTMENT OF CANADIAN HERITAGE MOVABLE CULTURAL PROPERTY The Cultural Property Export and Import Act came into force on September 6, 1977. It regulates the import and export of cultural property, and provides special tax incentives to encourage Canadians to donate or sell important objects to public institutions in Canada. The Movable Cultural Property Division of the Department of Canadian Heritage provides administrative services to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board and administers the Act, which contains the following features: Export Control The export of cultural property is regulated by reference to the Canadian Cultural Property Export Control List, which establishes categories of objects, and age and value limits. The departure from Canada of an object falling within the Control List can be postponed if, as a result of an appeal by a person who has had an export permit refused, the Review Board judges that a reasonable delay period should be created. This provides an opportunity for interested custodial institutions in Canada to purchase the object before the expiration of the delay period. Tax Incentives The combined provisions of the Cultural Property Export and Import Act and the Income Tax Act provide for tax credits of up to 100% of net income, and exemptions from the payment of capital gains tax, for cultural property donated or sold to "designated" institutions in Canada, that is determined to be of "outstanding significance and national importance." The Canadian Cultural Property Export Review Board makes this determination, and also establishes the fair market value of the cultural property for income tax purposes. Grants and Loans Funds are available to provide assistance to "designated" Canadian institutions to purchase objects threatened by export, and for which the Review Board has created a delay period. These funds may also be used to repatriate cultural property related to Canadian heritage which is offered for sale on the international market. International Cooperation The Act contains provisions prohibiting the import into Canada of cultural property illegally exported from other countries. The Cultural Property Export and Import Act also includes procedures for the recovery and return of foreign cultural property which has been illegally exported from its country of origin. BACKGROUNDER UNESCO INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR PROMOTING THE RETURN OF CULTURAL PROPERTY TO ITS COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN OR ITS RESTITUTION IN CASE OF ILLICIT APPROPRIATION The UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation was established in 1978 to promote the return of cultural property and to assist in the implementation of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. The Committee is composed of 22 Member States elected for a four-year term by the UNESCO General Conference. Canada was first elected to the Committee in 1983 and was re-elected in 1988 and again for a third term in 1995. The role of the Committee is to provide a forum for negotiation, discussion and "consciousness raising" about illicit traffic and the return of cultural property. The Committee can intervene when bilateral negotiations have already begun between countries, but does so in an advisory capacity. The mandate of the Committee is as follows: seeking ways and means of facilitating bilateral negotiations for the restitution or return of cultural property; promoting multilateral and bilateral cooperation for the restitution or return of cultural property; fostering a public information campaign on the nature and scope of the problem; guiding and planning UNESCO's activities with regard to the return of cultural property; encouraging the establishment of museums and other institutions for the conservation of cultural property; and promoting exchanges of cultural property. The current members of the Committee are: Bangladesh Bolivia Cameroon Canada Czech Republic Ecuador Ethiopia Guatemala India Italy Kuwait Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Madagascar Myanmar Netherlands Peru Republic of Korea Slovakia Sri Lanka Togo Ukraine Zaire At the Ninth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee, held in Paris in September 1996, Canada was unanimously elected as Chair of the Committee, a further indication of the respect that Canada has gained internationally in the fight against illicit traffic of cultural property. |
