DA returns paintings to Peru that were trafficked into Manhattan in 2012

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — The district attorney’s office announced on Friday the return of two paintings to the people of Peru that were stolen from a Peruvian church in 2012 and trafficked into Manhattan.

The paintings, each dating to the 18th Century, were taken from the Nuestra Señora de la Asunción church in Chicuito, Peru. Other silver and bronze relics and colonial paintings were also stolen.

Each painting was consigned for sale at an auction before the district attorney’s office seized them earlier this year, prosecutors said.

“We are deeply grateful for the cooperation of New York authorities in the successful recovery of two significant colonial paintings, which will soon be returned to the people of Peru,” Ambassador Marita Landaveri, Consul General of Peru in New York, said. “This collaboration underscores our ongoing commitment to combating the trafficking of cultural heritage, and we anticipate continued partnership in these vital efforts.”

The paintings both follow the Cuzco school, an artistic tradition derived from Cuzco, Peru, during the time of Spanish colonialism.

“Flights to Egypt” depicts baby Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Joseph on the flight to Egypt while being guided by an angel, and “The Pilgrim Virgin” shows the Virgin Mary surrounded by angels.

According to HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan, over the course of Bragg’s tenure, the ATU has recovered over almost 1,200 artifacts from 25 countries worth about $225 million.

“It does not matter whether an antiquity or painting was stolen ten years ago or ten thousand years ago – a stolen object is a stolen object,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “This investigation makes clear that looting and trafficking is far from a thing of the past, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively root out and dismantle these schemes,” Bragg said.