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Paintings, stone axes repatriated to Peru in LA ceremony

Associated Press

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Jose Luis Chavez Gonzales, Consul General, Peruvian Consulate in Los Angeles, admires recovered Peruvian paintings following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Team at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. The "Virgin of Guadalupe" oil painting was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings. At right, The "Pentecost" oil painting from the 17th Century Baroque period was stolen from the Church of Santa Cruz de Orurillo in Puna, Peru. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Kristi Koons Johnson, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, right, hosts a repatriation ceremony with officials from the United States Department of State, the United States Attorney's Office, the Consul General for the Peruvian Consulate in Los Angeles and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to return cultural pieces, some of which are 400 years old, following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Tea at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. The "Virgin of Guadalupe" oil painting, left, was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings. The "Pentecost" oil painting, middle, from the 17th Century Baroque period was stolen from the Church of Santa Cruz de Orurillo in Puna, Peru. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Kristi Koons Johnson, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, at podium, hosts a repatriation ceremony with officials from the United States Department of State, the United States Attorney's Office, the Consul General for the Peruvian Consulate in Los Angeles and the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) to return cultural pieces, some of which are 400 years old, following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Tea at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. The "Virgin of Guadalupe" oil painting, right, was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Members of the media attend a repatriation ceremony following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Team at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. Left, the "Virgin of Guadalupe" painting was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings. The FBI returned sixteen cultural items to representatives of the Peruvian government, from its pre-Columbian era through its Spanish Colonial Period and into the 20th Century. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Special Agent Elizabeth Rivas, FBI's Art Crime Team Members, Los Angeles Field Office takes questions from the media at a repatriation ceremony following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Team at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. The FBI returned sixteen cultural items to representatives of the Peruvian government, from its pre-Columbian era through its Spanish Colonial Period and into the 20th Century. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Vertical and horizontal folding lines are left on the canvas of the "Virgin of Guadalupe" painting after it was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings, now recovered at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles, Friday, April 22, 2022. The painting, stolen from a church in 2002, was hand-carried and transported into the United States by an art dealer, sold to an art gallerist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and later sold in 2016 to a buyer in California. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

Jose Luis Chavez Gonzales, Consul General, Peruvian Consulate in Los Angeles, admires recovered Peruvian paintings following investigations by the FBI's Art Crime Team at the FBI headquarters in Los Angeles Friday, April 22, 2022. The "Virgin of Guadalupe" oil painting was stolen from the Santiago Apostle Church, also known as "Saint James Apostle," in Ollantaytambo, Peru, with six other paintings. At right, The "Pentecost" oil painting from the 17th Century Baroque period was stolen from the Church of Santa Cruz de Orurillo in Puna, Peru. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)

LOS ANGELES – U.S. officials have repatriated 16 cultural items to the Peruvian government, including paintings, historical documents and stone axes.

The FBI returned the items to representatives of Peru at a ceremony Friday in Los Angeles.

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“These objects and the heritage they carry with them took an opaque journey into the United States and now have a clear path of return to Peru through proper diplomatic channels," Kristi K. Johnson, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles field office, said in a statement.

The objects include historical documents, a 17th century painting stolen from a Peruvian church in 1992 and a painting stolen from a different church in 2002 that was hand-carried into the United States by an art dealer, sold to an art gallerist in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and later sold in 2016 to a buyer in California, the statement said.

These artifacts were voluntarily surrendered to the FBI, the statement said.

“In these instances, the people who bought these objects did the right thing. Once they realized they were stolen, they agreed to forfeit them,” said Liz Rivas, a special agent with the FBI's art crimes team.

For example, the person who had the historical documents said they were purchased as souvenirs in Peru and they were reselling them online to make money during the coronavirus pandemic, Rivas said. She said the person didn't know they were stolen, and in this case, the documents didn't meet the minimum value for a criminal case.

The last four objects were stone axes seized in Indianapolis in 2014 from the collection of amateur archaeologist Donald Miller. Thousands of artifacts were taken from Miller's home and returned to dozens of countries spanning from China to Papua New Guinea.

Authorities encourage art and artifact buyers to review the FBI’s stolen art file before making a purchase to find out if the items were reported as stolen.

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This version of the story has been updated to correct the year that stone axes were seized from the collection of amateur archaeologist Donald Miller in Indianapolis. The year was 2014, not 2004.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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