Return of a Golden Treasure

In mid-August, 1998, a piece of looted gold/copper armor was returned to its native country.

The object, a piece of ceremonial armor called a backflap, was recovered in an FBI "sting" operation from two "art" dealers who had obtained the artifact after it was looted from the Sipán archaeological site in Peru. The backflap is built three separate pieces--a blade-like central piece and two halves of a rattle that attach to the top of the blade. It weighs approximately 2.5 pounds and is made of an alloy of copper, gold, and silver.

The Moche backflap was recovered on October 7, 1997 at a hotel in downtown Philadelphia, by FBI agents and the Philadelphia Police Department. Two Miami residents--Orlando Mendez, 31, and Denis Garcia, 57--had contacted an undercover FBI agent in an attempt to sell the artifact. Garcia and Mendez were arrested, and eventually pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy, interstate transportation of stolen property, and smuggling. Both men were sentenced to nine month jail terms. One of the conspirators--Francisco Humberto Iglesias--remains at large.

The Moche civilization (ca. 200 BC-700 AD) is probably best known for its ceramic bottles, globular in form, often depicting people or animals, with distinctive red-on-cream decorations and stirrup handles. Moche mellaturgy was quite sophisticated, copper-based alloys of gold and silver, hammered into three dimensional shapes from sheet metal. While little textile remains have been recovered from Moche sites, it is clear that Moche weavers were adept at tapestry, brocade and openwork weaves. Homes were primarily made of adobe brick. Monumental structures in urban settings, such as Sipán and las Huacas del Sol y de la Luna, were built on platforms, with walls decorated by richly-colored murals or friezes, and gabled or shed roofs supported by pillars, pilasters or columns. Maize, squash and beans were grown in the valleys, with the help of constructed irrigation canals.

The copper-gold backflap represents part of the rich cult ceremonialism of the Moche culture. The initial beginnings of the society were probably chiefdom level, but developed into what was arguably a state society, with a Warrior-Priest theocracy and elite castes and periodic human sacrifice. Illustrated on the backflap is the "winged decapitator," the principal god of the Moche, often seen on murals and friezes at the monumental sites.

In 1997 the United States and Peru formally agreed to prohibit the importation of valuable artifacts from Sipán and other Peruvian sites into the United States. This agreement was adopted in an effort to prevent further looting of these important cultural resources. The backflap was returned to the Government of Peru after a brief exhibition at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, which ended August 8th, 1998.

This story was partly based on press reports at the University of Pennsylvania, and las Huacas del Sol y de la Luna. For further reading, see the Moche Culture page.