Collector turns in Peruvian mask
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 long by 8.7 inches wide, represents the sea god Naylamp from the Sican culture, said Carlos Elera, director of the National Sican Museum in Peru.
There is no record of the mask having been stolen from any museum or private collection in Peru. 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.
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