Peru: A Journey in Time at the British Museum – what the reviews say
This is not a large show, but the exhibits – some on loan from Peru – are ‘exceptional’
This exhibition follows “the paths of the Andean peoples across the centuries”, beginning in around 1500BC, said Rachel Campbell-Johnston in The Times. Peru encompasses some of the most varied and inhospitable geography on the planet, including some of its “highest”, “driest”, “wettest and harshest territories”.
Nevertheless, it has been a haven of civilisation for millennia. Well before the arrival of the conquistadors and the Inca empire they toppled, it was home to a number of ancient cultures who went to extraordinary lengths to cultivate its land, and developed their own, unique “visual and musical traditions”.
This “landmark” exhibition charts the story of this remarkable land, covering 3,000 years of Pre-Columbian civilisation up to the Spanish invasion of the 16th century, and providing a “vibrant” picture of this culturally fecund corner of South America. It brings together around 120 exhibits, from copper funerary masks and woven textiles to carved wooden canoe paddles, from “ceremonial drums” to “a ritual cape with a jaguar-tooth grin”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The cultures of ancient Peru produced some of the most breathtaking and mysterious art ever realised, said Jonathan Jones in The Guardian. The Nasca civilisation, which flourished in the southern deserts of Peru from around 100BC to AD800, famously created “giant earth drawings” up to 1.3 miles wide, between the Andes and the Pacific.
Here, we see a video of one such masterwork depicting “a stylised hummingbird with thin elongated shafts representing feathers”, alongside which hangs a 2,000-year-old textile embroidered with similar designs. One possible inspiration for such works is shown on a Nasca vase depicting a masked shaman going into a trance; beside him is a San Pedro cactus, the “hallucinogenic flesh” of which he has consumed to induce his altered state.
Even more impressive are the artefacts of the greatest pre-Columbian civilisation, the Incas, who conquered much of the region in the early 15th century. A film about the city of Machu Picchu “dwells on astounding details of its architecture and engineering”.
The Incas also revolutionised agriculture, terracing part of the Andes in order to “grow maize at ever-higher altitudes”; and they “refined the art of human sacrifice”. Clothes buried with sacrificed children are on show here.
The arrival of the Spanish in 1532 devastated the Inca civilisation, “leading to huge loss of life through conflict and disease”, said Hettie Judah in The i Paper. Yet while the colonisers did their best to suppress indigenous cultures, they never entirely eradicated them. Videos show how modern Peruvians continue to draw on pre-Columbian traditions, whether in boat-building or potato and maize cultivation.
This is not a large show, but the exhibits – some from the museum’s collection, some on loan from Peru – are “exceptional”. We see a “tiny” golden llama; Moche ceramics shaped to resemble “bound prisoners awaiting sacrifice”; a “huge” Nasca drum painted with images of “combat, ritual and mythology”; and a flute “formed like a human body, with note holes in navel, nostrils and eyes”, made by the Cupisnique people of the northern Pacific coast between 1500 and 500BC. These are just a few highlights of a genuinely illuminating exhibition.
British Museum, London WC1 (britishmuseum.org). Until 20 February
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
What to know when planning an awe-inspiring hike on the Inca Trail
The Week Recommends Peru's most famous trail leads to Machu Picchu
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
6 serene homes in Vermont
Features Featuring a four-level Shaker barn in Hartland and a Scandinavian-inspired home in Stowe
By The Week US Published
-
Amanda Montell's 6 favorite books that will expand your knowledge
Feature The linguist recommends works by Mary Roach, Alice Carrière, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Rowan Beaird recommends 6 compelling books from the 1950s
Feature The author recommends works by Patricia Highsmith, Shirley Jackson, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 spacious homes with great rec rooms
Feature Featuring a suspended fireplace in Arizona and a marine-themed home in Maine
By The Week Published
-
Recipe: gnocchi di spinaci (spinach gnocchi)
The Week Recommends Forget the potatoes for this gnocchi made of the 'classic combination' of spinach and ricotta
By The Week UK Published
-
Stephen Graham Jones' 6 scary books with deeper meanings
Feature The best-selling author recommends works by Stephen King, Sara Gran, and more
By The Week US Published
-
6 stylish homes on the top floor
Feature Featuring a 1925 art deco high-rise in San Francisco and a factory-turned-home in Los Angeles
By The Week US Published