The Incas and Their Predecessors - Three Millennia of Pre-Columbian Peru |
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In its major exhibition The Incas and Their Predecessors - Three Millennia of Pre-Columbian Peru, Tampere Art Museum presents Peru´s ancient Indian cultures. On display from Feb. 4th to July 29th 2001, there are approximately 350 exhibits from sixteen different cultures. In temporal terms they cover almost 3000 years (1500 B.C.-1500 A.D.). The exhibition is the largest exhibition about Indian cultures ever to be arranged in Europe. On display, there are golden and silver artefacts, jewels, ceramics painted with glowing colours, world´s oldest ancient garments more precious than gold and the funeral reconstruction of the Lord of Sipán. The exhibits were lent by the most important museums of Peru and the Didrichsen Art Museum. Some of the exhibits are outside Peru´s borders for the first time! There is a separate stand of erotic art in the exhibition. The best-known of the Peruvian cultures, the Incas, dominated the powerful and prosperous Andean empire when the Spanish conquerors invaded the area in the 16th century. The invaders were impressed by the might and the well-organized society of the Incas. The unbelievable riches of the Inca gold made an indelible mark on the conquistadores. Although immense loads of gold were shipped to Spain, the Peruvian collections of ancient artefacts are still astonishingly impressive. The chroniclers of those and later days have preserved information on life in the Inca empire. The environmental conditions in Peru are as a rule favourable for the survival of artefacts. Therefore ornaments, tools, utensils, and weapons - and even textiles - have been recovered in surprisingly good condition. Not long ago, well-preserved mummies were discovered on the snow-capped summits of the Andean peaks. The chief experts of the exhibition are Professor Daniel Levine from Sorbonne University and Professor Martti Pärssinen and archaeologist Antti Korpisaari from Helsinki University. The artistic expert of the exhibition is museum director Anneli Ilmonen. Taina Väisänen is responsible for the architecture of the exhibition, the lighting design is Jaakko Kiukkanen´s and the music Tommi Koskinen´s. |
The Finnish ambassador to Peru, Mikko Pyhälä and the Peruvian ambassador to Finland, Martha Chavarri Dupuy have helped in many ways for the exhibition to succeed. The exhibition has also received support from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education in Finland. The exhibition on Peru continues the series of exhibitions presenting ancient cultures at Tampere Art Museum and it is the fifth project of major exhibitions. The former major exhibitions are:
The exhibition is open from Tuesday till Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
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