Peru recovers 79 pre-Hispanic textiles from the Museum of Gothenburg in Sweden

Peru has recovered 79 pre-Hispanic textiles that have been illegally located in Sweden since 1935, the ministry of culture said. In 1935, Swedish ambassador to Peru Sven Karrell acquired the fabrics hailing from the Nasca and Paracas cultures and took them to Sweden illegally — anonymously donating them to The Museum of Gothenburg, according to the Peruvian government. “Thanks to the collaboration between the foreign minister, the culture minister and the city of Gothenburg, we are celebrating the arrival of the second of the three scheduled deliveries, made up of 79 textiles,” said Jorge Arrunategui, deputy minister of cultural heritage and cultural industries. The delivery included wraps, cloths and decorative textile borders from the pre-Hispanic Paracas culture, an Andean society known for their unique composition, colors and weaving techniques using cotton and wool from vicunas — the national animal of Peru, related to the llama.