1. Mask of a Fanged Deity Moche III-IV

AD 200-700 Copper and bone H.: 17.5cm

One of the world's great collections of pre-Hispanic Peruvian art and artifacts is held in the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima, Peru. Recently opened in the United States, a new exhibition titled The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures of the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera features 160 objects selected from this vast collection. The exhibition examines the rich and diverse heritage of Peru through the presentation of extraordinary ceramic works, textiles, wood sculpture, and gold and silver regalia from cultures such as the Cupisnique, Chavín, Moche, Huari, Nasca, Chimù, and Inca that span the pre-Hispanic history of the region. This is the first time that so many treasures from this distinguished collection will be seen outside of Lima. The exhibition runs through August 10 at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco. It will then travel to the Knoxville Museum of Art where it will be shown from September 27 to January 4. This exhibition was organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and curated by Kathleen Berrin, curator of the arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas of that institution.

A Collector's Passion

2. Storage shelves with Moche portrait vessels in the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera, Lima,1996.

Rafael Larco Hoyle has long been considered one of the founding fathers of Peruvian archaeology. His personal interest in the ancient art and cultures of his country led to his acquisition and study of over 45,000 objects, particularly focusing on the arts of Peru's North Coast. Born in 1901 in the Chicama Valley, Rafael Larco Hoyle was first exposed to ancient Peruvian artworks through the outstanding collections of his father, for whom the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera was named more than two decades later. This first group of works Larco Herrera collected now forms the cornerstone of the Peruvian exhibits in Spain's Museo de Americas in Madrid.

In 1925 Larco Herrera acquired and gave more than 600 ceramic vessels to his son. This gift inspired Larco Hoyle both to study archaeology and to develop a museum. His collection continued to grow, and was installed in July of 1926 at the Chiclin Museum on his family's sugar hacienda, not far from the city of Trujillo. Although Larco Hoyle studied business administration and finance to run the family business, his devotion to archaeology prompted him to devote energy there as well as to monetary affairs, and resulted in the extensive exploration by him of the Virú and Chicama valleys, which centuries earlier had been home to the Moche civilization.

Larco Hoyle's success as a businessman eventually led him to Lima. His collections moved with him. Thus the present Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera was established in 1949, in the heart of the city's Pueblo Libre district. While far from home, the colonial architecture of the museum clearly expresses Larco's devotion to his hometown of Trujillo and the North Coast.

3. Seabird Moche IV, AD 450-550.	4. Manioc Tubers upisnique, Late Initial Period 1200-200 BC	5. Tumbo Plant MocheIV, AD 450-550
Ceramic, H.: 34.5 cm	Ceramic, H.: 23.2 cm	Ceramic, H.: 22 cm

Although the move to Lima marked the end of Larco's archaeological excavations, he continued to make outstanding contributions to the field of ancient Peruvian studies. From close analysis of the objects in his collection he began to reconstruct the mythology and socio-political structure of the Moche, as well as establishing a classification system for their ceramic vessels. In his twenty-five publications, he also advanced knowledge of the Gallinazo (Virú), Cupisnique, and Lambayeque cultures. He died in 1966 and, through his collections and research, he made a lasting impact on the way ancient Peruvian art is viewed and interpreted today.

The works Rafael Larco Hoyle collected and displayed have been repeatedly published and are hailed as a standard by which other pre-Hispanic Peruvian artworks are judged. The amazing technical mastery they reflect, as well as their stunning beauty and originality, have served to distinguish this collection as a national treasure.

6. Incised Bowl Chimù, Late Intermediate Period, AD 1000-1450	7. Killer Whale Nasca, Early Intermediate Period AD 1-700	8. Headdress Ornament with Fanned Plume Moche III-V, AD 200-700
Gold and silver, 10 cm diam.	Ceramic, H.: 30 cm	Gold, H.: 24.2 cm

Icons of the Larco Collection

The regal portrait vessel seen in fig. 13 epitomizes the spirit of ancient Peru. This stirrup-spout vessel captures the noble visage of a Moche ruler wearing a double-bird headdress. Portrait vessels depicted specific individuals in Moche society, presumably those of high status and power. Fine textiles, magnificent examples of jewelry, and the gold Moche headdress ornaments (figs. 9 and 10) in the Larco exhibition are also intended to express power and prestige

Representation of the natural landscape was a common theme that can be traced though the artworks of many cultures of ancient Peru. The dramatic environment that stimulated social organization in Peru also strongly influenced artistic developments and iconographic themes. For example, a Nasca ceramic vessel (fig. 8) depicts a killer whale decorated with vibrant colors and patterns. The Larco collection's Chimù pedestal cup (fig. 11) incorporates a wooden, fanged jaguar with markings of inlaid shell, lashed to a pyro-engraved gourd. More prosaic aspects of nature are also represented, as can be seen in the Moche and Cupisnique vessels depicting plants and vegetables (figs. 5 and 6). Even fantastic creatures such as the spectacular Moche crested animal (fig. 1) were at home in Peruvian artistic canons.

9. Headdress Ornament with Human Face, Moche III-V, AD 200-700	10. Pedestal Cup Chimù, Late Intermediate Period, AD 1000-1450 Wood, gourd	11. Anthropomorphic Stag Captive Moche IV, AD 450-55
Gold, H.: 27 cm	Fiber and shell, H.: 40 cm	Ceramic, H.: 24.5 c

The theme of man's relationship with nature is taken a step further in works combining traits of the human and natural worlds. Transformation of beings was a common artistic motif for the Moche, who believed the divisions between earthly and spiritual realms were not barriers for shamans and others who could perform the necessary rituals. The ceramic representation of a stag with human hands (fig. 12) is one of the highlights of this exhibition. Here a deer, with a rope around its neck and its tongue lolling from its mouth, is presented with its anthropomorphic hands bound at chest level and its genitals displayed, a position commonly used to depict captives. As such representations make clear, warfare and sacrifice were central themes that inspired Moche artisans. Other concepts reflecting the influence of elite status, nature, transformation, and ritual can be traced throughout the art of ancient Peruvian cultures.

12. Portrait Head Moche IV, AD 450-550		13. Cuzo Bottle Inca, Late Horizon AD 1450-1550
Ceramic, H.: 31.7 cm		Ceramic, H.: 24.5 cm

Rafael Larco Hoyle's contributions to the field of archaeology live on through the appreciation and study of his collection by modern audiences in his own country and abroad. The Spirit of Ancient Peru: Treasures of the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera honors his efforts and showcases the rich heritage of Peru. A fully illustrated exhibition catalogue features essays by Elizabeth Benson, Richard Burger, Christopher Donnan, Clifford Evans, Esther Pasztory, and María Rostworowski de Diez Canseco. It is available through the museums and is distributed by Thames and Hudson.

All images © Copyright RAFAEL LARCO MUSEUM, LIMA, PERU. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any form is prohibited.