subject: The Larco Museum- Well-planned And With A Comprehensive Pre-columbian Collection [print this page] The Larco Museum in Lima is a unique place to browse through as it has many chronological galleries showcasing 3000 years of Peruvian pre- Columbian history. The museum is built on a 7th century pre-Columbian temple and is surrounded by lovely gardens. Housing an amazing array of textiles, ceramics and metal artefacts, these masterpieces are considered to be icons of the pre-Columbian art. The museum also has the distinction of being the only museum in the world of allowing visitors to visit its storage area which houses tens of thousands of classified objects not on display.
The ceramics gallery in the museum has been planned with great care so as to give visitors a comprehensive impression about the ceramics in the pre-Columbian era. All the tools, molds, unbaked ceramics which were found in graves and even ceramics which did not get baked properly are all displayed in the gallery. The bone tools which were used by potters and sculptors are also on show along with the kaolin, clay and the colours which were used in painting the vases.
The Pre-Columbian era had a mixture of cultures and this is brought to the visitors knowledge in the culture gallery. The visit starts from 7000B.C. and goes onto the 16th century of the Spanish conquest displaying its indigenous art. The gallery is divided into the North Coast, South, Centre and the Highlands in accordance with a cultural sequence.
Nowhere in the world will you find an erotic gallery dedicated solely to the display of sexual archaeological objects. These objects are a motley collection of ceramic pots depicting various sexual acts and positions and represent pre-Columbian art. many of these objects were destroyed by the Spanish conquerors who were horrified by the explicit sexual depictions making the remaining objects even more of a treasure.
The beauty and strength of metals like gold and silver gave them a divine aura in the Andean times and they fashioned objects out of these precious metals to define their cosmological world, religion and their genealogy. These objects were offered to Gods and also denoted the power and status of the individuals wearing them. These adornments and objects are displayed beautifully in the gold and jewellery gallery of the museum.
The lithic gallery showcases outstanding items like monolithic nails, large sculptures expressing religious beliefs, mortars and maquettes and miniature lithic pieces offered at funerals.
The textile gallery showcases various remnants of textiles of the pre- ceramic era like nets, bags, ropes which were made with vegetable fibres. In later years, textiles underwent gradual evolution and examples of that development are also on display.
The vault gallery showcases stunningly beautiful jewellery of ancient Peru. Along with gold and silver, other semi-precious stones like turquoise, amethyst, quartz and lapis lazuli were used. Various nose ornaments, ear plugs, headdresses, pectorals, masks, ceremonial vases and other sundry miniature items showcase the artistic skills of the metal smiths who worked on them. Check this site for more information!
