September 17, 2002	Tuesday	Rajab 9, 1423

PARIS, Sept 16: Peru has decided to seize the highest-level court in France, the Cour de Cassation, in an attempt to retrieve a 3300-year-old mortuary mask that it says is a national treasure.

The mask was seized five years ago by French Customs. They insist that they would only return the mask when a legal action concerning its ownership is resolved.

On Sept 11, a French appeals court at Bordeaux ordered that the mask be returned to its rightful proprietor, a British resident who claims that the mask is a copy and in no way can be considered a national treasure.

When the mask was seized by French Customs, it was on its way to Great Britain, from Spain, where it had originally been bought — for 10,000 euros.

The Cour d’Appel de Bordeaux said in its decision that none of the parties involved in the suit had provided proof that the mask was indeed an object that could be considered as part of the cultural heritage of Peru.

That wasn’t to the liking, however, of Peru’s Consulate General in Bordeaux which has decided to take the matter to France’s highest court, claiming that “the mask, created in 1300 B.C, exists in only three copies and is as much a part of our cultural heritage as is the Mona Lisa to France. It is an exceptional art object and an important part of our patrimony.”