RCMP help recover ancient Peruvian artifact in Montreal

A 2,000-year-old pre-Hispanic bowl has been returned to Peru after RCMP helped recover the artifact in Montreal.

The bowl was identified by Peruvian authorities at a Montreal auction house in late June. According to RCMP, the auction house was selling three bowls. Peruvian authorities identified the one as valuable, owing to its cultural and historical significance.

Officials from the Peruvian Embassy made a request through Global Affairs Canada that the bowl be repatriated, RCMP said.

Authorities said the seller of the bowl, also from Montreal, claimed to have possessed it through inheritance, but agreed to relinquish it without financial compensation following discussions with RCMP and the government of Peru.

“The bowl itself may be small, but it is part of a much larger story which informs the history of Peru and its people. It is satisfying for us to contribute to its safe return,” Insp. Dawn Morris-Little, RCMP financial crime director, said in a press release.

The artifact was transferred into RCMP custody before it was formally presented to representatives from the Peruvian Consulate in Montreal on July 16.