09:04 | St. Petersburg (Russia), Mar. 29.
The Marble Hall of
the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg is hosting the exhibition "The Gold of the Inca Empire. God. Power. Eternity. 2000 Years of a Great Civilization," dedicated to the great past of Ancient Peru.
The exhibition contains 86 valuable original objects from ancient Peruvian civilizations that —over the course of centuries— bring their message to modern man, enriching our view on human development in South America long before its discovery by the Old World.
The pieces include a group of artifacts —from the collection of the Gold Museum of Peru— gathered over the years by Miguel Mujica Gallo.
Apart from the leitmotif associated with gold, this show is one more proof of the artistry and aesthetic perfection of the works done by ancient Peruvian masters speaking the universal language of creativity accessible to humankind.
According to the
exhibition website, ancient Peruvians have for centuries seen in gold the symbols of their gods and the sun. Gold embodied light, warmth, and life as well.
In fact, Incas considered themselves as godlike rulers originating from the Sun basing their power on this ancient belief. Gold, in the form of decorative insignia, served as a tool of power enhancement.
The display will offer visitors an exhaustive view of Inca traditions and rites, and of
Andean cultures that predated them and developed before the Spanish conquest.
"This exhibition is a unique opportunity to know the fascinating and original world of the Pre-Columbian Peruvian civilizations that for more than 2000 years developed in almost complete isolation from the Old World and made a significant contribution to the global treasury of cultural heritage," said Doctor V.M. Grusman, director of the Russian Ethnographic Museum.
"The ancient agricultural peoples of Peru were the first to domesticate the plants without which it's difficult to imagine daily life of man in any corner of the planet today: potato, beans, cotton, peanuts," he added.
Peruvian Ambassador to the Russian Federation Benjamin
Chimoy attended the opening ceremony, saying the exhibition is a great way to bring Peruvians and Russians together through mutual knowledge and to
attract visitors to the Inca country, so they can experience first-hand its cultural traditions.
(END) NDP/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 29/3/2019