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National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition

The National Gallery of Australia (NGA) in Canberra will host the country's first exhibition of Peruvian art over summer.

National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition
MOCHE culture: A bead in the form of an owl’s head made of gold and turquoise
(north coast 100–800 AD) [Credit: Museo Tumbas Reales de Sipán]
'Gold and the Incas: Lost worlds of Peru' will showcase more than 200 works of ancient Peruvian art, including intricate jewellery, elaborate embroidered and woven cloths, ceramic sculptures and gold items created to decorate the nobility in life and death.

NGA director Ron Radford says the exhibition will reveal the splendour of the ancient cultures of Peru, giving audiences the drama and beauty of the famous Incan empire and its predecessors.

National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition
SICÁN-LAMBAYEQUE culture: Vessel with bridge and double spouts
(north coast 750–1375 AD) [Credit: Museo Oro del Perú, Lima]
"Peruvian art made of gold, silver, turquoise, shell, textiles and ceramics will enthral visitors this summer and provide a totally new exhibition experience for Australians," he said.

Mr Radford says he thinks the exhibition will intrigue visitors. "We've never had a Peruvian Inca show in Australia before and there's increasing interest in South American cultures, in schools and elsewhere," he said.

National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition
SICÁN-LAMBAYEQUE culture: Tumi, or sacrificial knife, (north
coast 750–1375 AD) [Credit: Museo Oro del Perú, Lima]
"I think it will be a very exciting exhibition for Australia and very different from what we've produced before."

The items have been sourced from 10 private and public museums, including the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History in Peru.

National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition
VICÚS culture (FRÍAS style: Female figure, known as The Venus of Frías 200–600 AD
(north coast 100 BC – 400 AD) [Credit: Instituto Nacional de Cultura, Piura]
"Five [museums] are in Lima the capital, and five are provincial archaeological museums," said senior curator Christine Dixon. "We're thrilled to host some of the greatest works of art ever produced in ancient Peru. The museums were so generous with their loans and are so happy to share their treasures with Australia."

ACT Tourism Minister Andrew Barr says the exhibition will boost visitor numbers to the capital.

National Gallery to host Australia's first Peruvian art exhibition
SICÁN-LAMBAYEQUE culture: Mask (north coast 750–1375 AD)
[Credit: Museo Oro del Perú, Lima]
"Given what's over the horizon in terms of economic activity, an injection of gold into our economy over the summer period will be most welcome," he said.

"I know the tourism and hospitality industry, in particular, will benefit, but the benefits will spread broadly throughout the economy. The past two summer blockbusters, Renaissance and Toulouse-Lautrec, have resulted in an overall economic injection to the ACT of more than $112 million."

The exhibition will run from December 6 until April 21.

Source: ABC News Website [September 06, 2013]