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Ancient Peru Unearthed
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), Toronto
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Education is a primary goal of museums and Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum is a leader in teaching about civilization and culture. Ancient Peru Unearthed began with the joy of learning. |
Gifted Peruvian student Carlos Elera was accepted into the University of Calgary’s Department of Archeology. After he earned his doctorate in 1999 Elera returned to Peru. Subsequently he was appointed the Director of the Sicán National Museum, from whose collection are found the artifacts traveling in Ancient Peru Unearthed. Dr. Elera’s connections to Canada and Calgary have remained strong and, in appreciation, he was integral in the planning of this exclusive Canadian tour.
Title: Sicán Lord’s Mask
Middle Sicán (900 – 1100 AD)
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Height: 29cm Width: 52.9cm Weight: 1006g
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
Through the exhibit much can be learned about the Sicán people and culture.
Justin Jennings, Associate Curator in the ROM’s World Cultures Department and the exhibition curator for its ROM engagement, stated, "the Sicán were perhaps the finest masters of metallurgy in the ancient Andes. To honor their leaders and gods they created gold objects of astonishing beauty and technological precision. Through this exhibit and its objects people will begin to understand Sicán’s important and, until now, unknown role in Pre-Columbian Peru."
Title: Ornament adorned with Perforated Gold Discs
Middle Sicán (900 – 1100 AD)
Medium: Gold Laminate
Dimensions: Height: 14.3cm Width: 22cm Weight: 44.2g
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
William Thorsell, Director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum said, "The ROM is pleased to collaborate with Peru's renowned Sicán National Museum and Calgary's The Nickle Arts Museum to bring this exhibition to Toronto. Visitors will be introduced to a previously unknown culture and learn about the fascinating excavation of this intact site. Along the way visitors will be dazzled by the sheer beauty of these outstanding objects."
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The creative Sicán culture flourished in Peru from AD 800 to AD 1375. The Sicán were skilled metallurgists, traders and seafarers. Their trade routes spanned 1,000 kilometers up and down the northern Andean coast. The Sicán controlled a large expanse of coastal desert and abundant river valleys in northern Peru. |
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Title: Single Spout Vessel decorated with monkey figures
Medium: Ceramic blackware
Dimensions: Height: 15.2cm Diameter: 12cm Weight: 332.5g
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
Sicán culture is notable for its sophisticated and distinctive art, pottery, architecture and religious artifacts. Little is known of the Sicán. Knowledge and education of the Ancient Peruvian culture focused on the Incas who ruled during the time of European exploration.
Title: Four Sicán Lords Dressed as Deities, cut out
Middle Sicán (900 – 1100 AD)
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: Height: 11cm Width: 8cm
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
Though the Sicán produced up to 85% of Peru’s gold artifacts still in existence this intricate metallurgical work is often attributed to the Incas, a civilization that thrived nearly one hundred years following the Sicán.
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Unfortunately, contributing to the limited knowledge of the Sicán culture is the extensive looting of tombs that has taken place along the northern coast of Peru. Ancient Peru Unearthed is exceptional because its contents are from Batán Grande, one of the few major burial sites in Peru to be completely excavated by archaeologists. |
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Given the material here was scientifically uncovered contextual information about the artifacts is available. The placement of the objects and human remains provided valuable information about the Sicán culture. Ancient Peru Unearthed introduces this intriguing civilization and the magnificent artwork it left behind. |
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Visitors to the ROM during the exhibit will be able to view many objects that were excavated from a significant tomb at Huaca Loro, thought by many archaeologists to be a royal burial place. It was uncovered by the world’s leading expert on Sicán culture, Dr. Izumi Shimada, formerly of Harvard University’s Peabody Museum and now with Southern Illinois University who led a team of American, European and Peruvian archaeologists. |
The Shimada team began digging at the Batán Grande site in 1978. Several years later, in 1991, archaeologists discovered this undisturbed gold-filled tomb.
Title: Double Spouted pot with Lord Sicán, Unrestored
Medium: Ceramic wrapped in Gold-Coloured Tumbaga Sheetmetal
Dimensions: Height: 19.5cm Diameter: 26.5cm Weight: 812.3g
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
Commonly referred to as the East Tomb, the elaborate burial site of an elite Sicán male, (known throughout the exhibition as "The Sicán Lord"), revealed new insights into the mysteries of the Sicán. For example the bodies of two women and two children were placed in close proximity to the Sicán Lord. The Sicán Lord’s body was covered with cinnabar paint, a highly toxic red pigment which was restricted to members of the Sicán elite. Its red color may have symbolized blood, a vital liquid representing both life and birth. The inverted burial position of the Sicán Lord, in addition to the positions of the two women buried with him, suggests that his burial symbolized rebirth.
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Batán Grande, comprised of expansive complex of adobe pyramids and plazas was the Sicán religious center and the main burial ground. The ornately crafted objects found in the tomb illustrate that the Incas were not the only highly developed Pre-Columbian culture in South America. In fact Sicán metallurgy is now seen as the pinnacle of Andean metallurgy in terms of craftsmanship, surpassing that of the Incas. |
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Title: Conglomeration of Shell, Turquoise and Crystal Beads
Found on the Sicán Lord’s chest
Dimensions: Length: 47cm Width: 37cm Weight: 22kg
Photo Credit: Y. Yoshii/PAS
Image Courtesy: The Royal Ontario Museum
Thanks to a gifted student, a highly skilled excavation team and a group of museums dedicated to education and understanding world cultures Toronto visitors will have a wonderful opportunity to explore and enjoy the Sicán culture and purchase the excellent accompanying catalog.
Ancient Peru Unearthed
The Nickle Arts Museum:
through January 14, 2007
Royal Ontario Museum (ROM):
March 10, 2007 - September 3, 2007
Canadian Museum of Civilization:
December 13, 2007 - April 27, 2008
Art Gallery of Nova Scotia:
June 14, 2008 - August 17, 2008