Peru has stopped an online auction during which a Canadian company offered for sale 20 artifacts from the pre-Hispanic Chancay civilization , the Peruvian Foreign Ministry announced Saturday.

"The Peruvian Embassy in Canada and the Consulate General in Toronto, as part of a joint effort, have completed a virtual auction of twenty pieces of pre-Hispanic Chancay cultural assets that are part of Peru's cultural heritage," the statement said.

The ministry added, "The Canadian auction company Waddingtons, based in Toronto, offered on its website, The Siler Room, the pieces that were monitored by the Ministry of Culture."

Among the items that went up for sale was a seed necklace.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that it is taking the necessary measures to ensure that these pieces are returned to Peru.

The Chancay civilization developed in the valleys of Fortaleza, Bativilca, Subi, Huaura, Chancay, Chión, and Rimac y Lorraine, on the central coast of Peru between 1200 and 1470.

Peru and Canada are signatories to the UNESCO Convention, issued in Paris in 1970, which promotes the fight against illicit trafficking in cultural assets in the world.