Museum displays recovered artifact

Who says you can't go home again? A rare artifact that was looted from ancient tombs in Peru almost a decade ago was recovered in a Federal Bureau of Investigation sting operation and returned to the Peruvian government in a ceremony last Wednesday at the University Museum. The Peruvian government has loaned the artifact to the museum for a month-long display. "This was part of the richest archeological finds in the 20th century" said Ricardo Luna, the Peruvian ambassador to the United States, of the pilfered treasure. The artifact has a very rich history. Archeologists call it a "backflap," and it is believed to be a piece of royal costuming worn by the elite members of the Moche civilization of Peru, which thrived between 200 B.C. and A.D. 700. "The tombs contained valuable information about everyday life," said Walter Alva, director of Peru's Bruning Museum. "All this information is lost when graverobbers destroy the contents of the tombs. They are just looking for gold stuff they can sell on the black market." The backflap is made of an alloy of gold, copper and silver, a valuable blend to which the grave robbers were attracted. Similar backflaps are shown in many works of art from the period, and others have been found in the tombs of several Moche warrior-priests. This particular backflap's story was made more interesting when it was stolen from Peruvian tombs and smuggled into the United States through Miami for sale on the black market. Moche artifacts are highly valued on the international market for their beauty and fine workmanship. As a result, many tombs in Peru have been looted and artifacts are rarely ever recovered intact. But this particular case managed to buck the trend. The FBI, with the help of the Philadelphia Police Department, recovered the backflap in a sting operation on October 7, 1997, when two men attempted to sell the backflap to undercover agents for $1.6 million. Orlando Mendez, 31, and Denis Garcia, 57, both of Miami, were arrested and pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property and smuggling. The mysterious disappearance of the backflap is over for now, but the criminal case is far from closed. The FBI has also charged Fransisco Iglesias, 54, with conspiracy, smuggling and interstate transportation of stolen property. It is alleged that while he was the Panamanian counsel general in New York City, he used his diplomatic status to smuggle the backflap into the United States. Investigators also believe that he used his car, which had diplomatic license plates, to drive the conspirators to Philadelphia to meet with the undercover FBI agents. Iglesias currently remains at large. But after its trek from the mountains of Peru, through the black market and into the hands of authorities, the artifact can been seen at the University Museum. Under tight security, Museum officials have prepared an exhibit including the backflap, other information on Moche culture and artifacts and the story of how the backflap was recovered. "We are delighted to cooperate with the government of Peru and the FBI to display this extraordinary Moche object," University Museum Director Jeremy Sabloff said. "We hope this exhibit will help raise consciousness about the serious problem of international looting." "The University of Pennsylvania Museum has long taken a leadership role against looting of archeological sites and black market trading," Sabloff added. In 1970, the museum was among the first cultural institutions to adopt the groundbreaking UNESCO Convention, which states that no "partner institution" will accept any artifact into its collections without clear evidence of legal history. The backflap will remain on exhibit at the University Museum through August 8, when it will be returned to Peru for permanent display at the Bruning Archeological Museum in Lambayeque.

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