The United States government has implemented laws to restrict the importation of archaeological and ethnological material from Peru. These laws are based on the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property (823 U.N.T.S. 231 (1972)). U.S. acceptance of the 1970 UNESCO Convention was codified into U.S. law as the "Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act" (Pub.L. 97-446, 19 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) ("the Act"). This was done to promote U.S.leadership in achieving greater international cooperation towards preserving cultural treasures that are of importance not only to the nations whence they originate, but also to greater international understanding of mankind's common heritage. The U.S. is, to date, the only major art importing country to implement the 1970 Convention. During the past several years, import restrictions have been imposed on a emergency basis on archaeological and ethnological artifacts of a number of signatory nations as a result of requests for protection received from those nations.

Why am I mentioning all of this legal information? I do not import Nazca ( Nasca ), Inca or other pre-Columbian artifacts from South America or buy them from auction websites. I do not own any culturally sensitive ethnographic material and I obey all the laws of the USA. This artifact was purchased as a collection from an Antiquity Dealer from New York City who had purchased a large collection of slings (tumps), tumplines, belts, textiles, cordage, etc. from the Parke Bernet Auction House in 1965. The owner authenticated the collection at The Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. When the owner retired in 2002, I purchased the unsold portion of his collection. The owner gave me a letter certifying that these artifacts have been in the USA since before the UNESCO agreement. These items are therefore legal to own in the USA. However, they cannot be exported to other countries.

I am fortunate to have a friend who studied Archaeology at the University of Peru and is an expert in identifying the age and culture of the pre-Columbian artifacts. Unfortunately, my supply of pre-Columbian artifacts is almost depleted, so this may be one of your last opportunities to acquire pre-Columbian textiles and associated artifacts through legal channels.