A Rope Through His Ear, by James Holding (epub/Kindle/pdf)
When a less-than-honest collector decides to add a valuable Mochica jug to his collection, he consults Professor de la Vega with a request to merely photograph it. When the professor directs him to the who sold it on the black market, he arranges to purchase it—and that's where the trouble starts, because he still needs to get it back to the United States!