Swiss authorities return seized cultural artefacts to China

Heading back eastwards: the five objects in question. © Keystone / Peter Schneider

Five Chinese cultural assets, confiscated during criminal proceedings, are to be returned from Switzerland to their homeland.

The Federal Office of Culture (FOC) handed over the objects to the Chinese ambassador in Bern on Thursday.

Swiss customs officers had seized the objects as part of criminal proceedings in the cantons of Basel City and Ticino. While there was no indication that the objects had been stolen or looted, the had not been declared properly as cultural goods upon importation.

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The handover between FOC director Carine Bachmann and Chinese ambassador Shihting Wang took place within the framework of the Federal Law on the International Transfer of Cultural Property.

Switzerland and China thus underlined their commitment to combating the illegal transfer of cultural property, against the background of a corresponding UNESCO convention and a bilateral agreement.

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The objects in question are an equestrian sculpture, a large wine vessel, a pair of horse statues and a coin. The objects are between about 2,000 and 400 years old.

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