A joint operation between the Ministry of Culture and the national Superintendence of Customs and Tax Administration (SUNAT) allowed the seizure of a paint with historical value that was going to be sent illegally to the United States from a Postal Services Office of Peru (SERPOST) in the district of The olive trees.
The finding occurred during a routine inspection of parcels by officers of Sunat-Adanas In the stores of Serpostwhere they identified a work that caught attention for their visual and material characteristics. Given the suspicions, the team of the Ministry of Culturespecifically to the Directorate of Recovery (DRE), Unit Specialized in the defense of Making Cultural Heritage.
The seized piece is a oil painting On canvas, mounted on a surdated wood frame. It represents a female figure dressed in white and veil clothing, in a style that suggests republican origin, although its authenticity and value historic They will be confirmed after the corresponding analyzes.
Together with this work, two other contemporary paintings were found, all packed in technopor and destined to be sent by the Express Mail Service to the Estate and Consignment Fine Art gallery, located in the city of Scottsdale, in the state of Arizona, USA.
According to the documentation attached to the shipment, the sender would be a Peruvian citizen domiciled in the Lima district of Surquillo. However, it has not yet been confirmed if I was aware of the possible patrimonial character of the main work.
Once the corresponding act was written, the specialists of the The min proceeded with the immediate seizure of the painting, which was transferred to the headquarters of the Ministry of Culture. There will be subject to a process of technical and legal verification. In case of confirming your condition of Cultural good of the nationefforts will begin to guarantee their physical and legal protection, in accordance with the provisions of the General Law of Cultural Heritage of the Nation.
This action was executed by the Cultural Assets Verifications Module located within Serpostpart of the permanent effort to curb the illicit traffic of heritage objects.
The intervention was carried out within the framework of the work that has been promoting the National Commission for the Protection and Recovery of Movable Property of the Cultural Heritage of the Nationcreated in March 2021. This inter -institutional coordination space has allowed strengthening surveillance on the transfer of cultural objects and has consolidated the Circumcision as strategic ally in this objective.
He Ministry of Culture He stressed that these types of actions are the result of constant training to allied entities on identification of archaeological, historical and documentary goods.
In that sense, he called on citizens to actively join the defense of the Cultural Heritagedenouncing any finding, suspicion or attack against movable or immovable property that is part of the national legacy. To do this, attention channels are enabled:
In Peru, unauthorized marketing of goods that are part of the cultural heritage can lead to severe criminal sanctions. In accordance with article 230 of the Criminal Code, any person who destroys, alters, illegally serves the country or markets cultural goods of non -pre -Hispanic origin – as those belonging to the colonial or republican periods – can be criminally prosecuted, provided that these objects have been officially recognized as part of the cultural heritage of the nation.
These actions are considered crimes, even in a tentative degree, and can be aggravated if they involve public officials who, having responsibilities for protection, facilitate or allow these infractions.
In addition, the law contemplates the confiscation of the objects involved, as well as the instruments used for transfer or marketing illicit. This regulation seeks to stop the traffic and deterioration of fundamental pieces for the country’s historical memory.
