According to ARTnews on Wednesday, after nearly being sold at an Austrian auction house, a 1,000-year-old stone trophy was returned to Mexico.

The trophy, which is carved from ancient stone and mimics a yoke, is an intricate portrayal of the gear worn around players' waists during the Mesoamerican ball game pelota for protection.

An official statement from Mexico divulged that the trophy was recovered from Austria before the sale with assistance from Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico City.

Every major Mesoamerican culture played the Ball Game in various fashions, both for enjoyment and occasionally with sacred importance. Most variants required two or three players to utilize their hips, shoulders, knees, and elbows to retain the ball in play or score points by passing a firm rubber ball through a vertical stone hoop situated high on a flat stone wall.

According to the World History Encyclopaedia, long rectangular courts were frequently located in a city's "sacred precinct".

Mexico has become more active in attempting to restore looted artifacts from around the world. Officials in the country have launched a campaign known as #MiPatrimonioNoSeVende (#MyHeritageIsNotForSale), and the Mexican Ministry of Culture has become accustomed to directly calling out auction houses hosting such sales. Their efforts have yielded mixed results. According to official data, 6,000 have been returned so far.

Mexican officials have organized the repatriation of artifacts from the United States, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

In February of last year, 17 Mexican archaeological items that had been in the possession of Dutch citizens for 30 years were returned. 

In March the Mexican government ordered that the pre-Columbian art auction at the Paris-based auction house Millon, be called off, arguing that 83 of the 148 pieces are legally protected as parts of Mexico's cultural heritage.