Authorities halt auction of Peruvian artifacts

Peruvian and Canadian officials have halted a virtual auction by the Canadian company Waddington's of 20 archeological pieces (like this bracelet) from the pre-Hispanic Chancay culture that developed on Peru's central coast between 1200 and 1470. ©AFP

Lima (AFP) - Officials in Peru and Canada have moved jointly to stop the virtual auction of 20 ancient pieces from Peru's pre-Hispanic Chancay culture, the Foreign Ministry in Lima announced Saturday. 

It said Peru's embassy in Canada and the Consulate General in Toronto had taken the action together. 

Waddington's, a Toronto-based Canadian auction company, had obtained the pieces through a web portal called The Saleroom, the statement said.The planned sale came to the attention of Peru's Culture Ministry.

Among the archeological objects was a necklace made of seeds.

The pre-Incan Chancay culture developed in the valleys of Peru's central coast between the years 1200 and 1470.

The Foreign Ministry in Lima has been working to recover cultural assets taken from the country.

Both Peru and Canada are signatories of the 1970 Unesco convention that promotes the fight against illicit traffic in cultural artifacts.