TITLE 19 - US CODE - CHAPTER 11 - IMPORTATION OF PRE-COLUMBIAN MONUMENTAL OR ARCHITECTURAL SCULPTURE OR MURALS

19 USC 2091 - List of stone carvings and wall art; promulgation and revision; criteria for classification

The Secretary, after consultation with the Secretary of State, by regulation shall promulgate, and thereafter when appropriate shall revise, a list of stone carvings and wall art which are pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or murals within the meaning of paragraph (3) of section 2095 of this title. Such stone carvings and wall art may be listed by type or other classification deemed appropriate by the Secretary.

19 USC 2092 - Export certification requirement

(a) Issuance by country of export
No pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural which is exported (whether or not such exportation is to the United States) from the country of origin after the effective date of the regulation listing such sculpture or mural pursuant to section 2091 of this title may be imported into the United States unless the government of the country of origin of such sculpture or mural issues a certificate, in a form acceptable to the Secretary, which certifies that such exportation was not in violation of the laws of that country.

(b) Procedure when certificate lacking
If the consignee of any pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural is unable to present to the customs officer concerned at the time of making entry of such sculpture or mural

(1) the certificate of the government of the country of origin required under subsection (a) of this section;

(2) satisfactory evidence that such sculpture or mural was exported from the country of origin on or before the effective date of the regulation listing such sculpture or mural pursuant to section 2091 of this title; or

(3) satisfactory evidence that such sculpture or mural is not covered by the list promulgated under section 2091 of this title;

the customs officer concerned shall take the sculpture or mural into customs custody and send it to a bonded warehouse or public store to be held at the risk and expense of the consignee until such certificate or evidence is filed with such officer. If such certificate or evidence is not presented within the 90-day period after the date on which such sculpture or mural is taken into customs custody, or such longer period as may be allowed by the Secretary for good cause shown, the importation of such sculpture or mural into the United States is in violation of this chapter.

19 USC 2093 - Forfeiture of unlawful imports

(a) Seizure
Any pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural imported into the United States in violation of this chapter shall be seized and subject to forfeiture under the customs laws.

(b) Disposition of articles
Any pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural which is forfeited to the United States shall

(1) first be offered for return to the country of origin and shall be returned if that country bears all expenses incurred incident to such return and complies with such other requirements relating to the return as the Secretary shall prescribe; or

(2) if not returned to the country of origin, be disposed of in the manner prescribed by law for articles forfeited for violation of the customs laws.

19 USC 2094 - Rules and regulations

The Secretary shall prescribe such rules and regulations as are necessary and appropriate to carry out the provisions of this chapter.

19 USC 2095 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter

(1) The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Treasury.

(2) The term United States includes the several States, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

(3) The term pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural means

(A) any stone carving or wall art which

(i) is the product of a pre-Columbian Indian culture of Mexico, Central America, South America, or the Caribbean Islands;

(ii) was an immobile monument or architectural structure or was a part of, or affixed to, any such monument or structure; and

(iii) is subject to export control by the country of origin; or

(B) any fragment or part of any stone carving or wall art described in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.

(4) The term country of origin, as applied to any pre-Columbian monumental or architectural sculpture or mural, means the country where such sculpture or mural was first discovered.