Treasures From Ancient Civilizations Of Peru - Half Day Guided Tour
The Larco Museum (Spanish:Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera) is a privately owned museum of pre-Columbian art, located in the Pueblo Libre District of Lima, Peru. The museum is housed in an 18th century vice-royal mansion built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid. It showcases chronological galleries that provide a thorough overview of 4,000 of Peruvian pre-Columbian history. It boasts one of the world's largest collections of pre-Columbian art including Moche, Chimu, Wari, Paracas, Nazca, and Inca pieces. Additionally, the Larco Museum is well known for its gallery of pre-Columbian erotic pottery gallery.
In 1903 Rafeal Larco Herrera began to collect pre-Columbian vessels belonging to the cultures of northern Peru.
In 1925, Rafael Larco Herrera acquired a collection of vases and other archaeological pieces from Alfredo Hoyle, his brother-in-law. There were approximately 600 ceramic pieces in all.
The arrival of these objects ignited a collector's enthusiasm in his son, Rafael Larco Hoyle. Soon after, Larco Herrera left his son in charge of the collection and those pieces completed the first collection of what would become the Rafael Larco Herrera Museum.
During that same year, Larco Hoyle received some advice from his uncle, Victor Larco Herrera, a founder of the first museum in Lima. He urged Larco Hoyle to form a new museum in Lima, one that could guard all the archaeological relics that were continually being extracted by clandestine excavators.
Larco Hoyle agreed with his uncle and proceeded to create a museum that would carry on his father's legacy. Larco Hoyle purchased two large collections: 8,000 pieces from Roa and 6,000 pieces from Carranza. He also purchased several small collections in Chicama Valley, Trujillo, Viru, and Chimbote. Within a year, the collection had grown significantly and display cases were installed in a small house on the Chiclín estate. On July 28, 1926, Independence Day, the museum opened its doors to the public.
Located in a unique vice-royal mansion of the 18th century built over a 7th century pre-Columbian pyramid is surrounded by beautiful gardens.
Features the finest gold and silver collection from Ancient Peru and the famous erotic archaeological collection, one of the most visited Peruvian tourist attractions.
For an unforgettable experience, Larco is one of the few museums in the world where visitors can also choose to enter the storage area with its 45.000 classified archaeological objects.
Its masterpieces are considered worldwide icons of Pre-Columbian art, after being exhibited in the world's leading museums.
The conservation and restoration of Peru’s archaeological patrimony is one of the basic principles of the Larco Museum. Keeping the Larco collection properly as we have done during many years has made us become one of the most prestigious institutions on conservation and restoration of archaeological Peruvian objects.
The Larco Museum, with over 80 years of experience and an excellent team of conservators is an example of how an archaeological collection must be kept.
LA HUACA PUCLLANA OR HUACA JULIANA
La Huaca Pucllana or Huaca Juliana covers an area larger than 15 hectares, reaching possibly near the Bajada Balta, where in 1925 Alfred Kroeber, American anthropologist, found a cemetery of the period, which would relate to the builders of the settlement.
The Huaca Pucllana or Huaca Juliana, is a great adobe (as known as mud brick) and clay pyramid located in the Miralfores district of central Lima, Peru, built from seven staggering platforms. It takes its name from the Quechua word “pucllay,” meaning “game,” which in its entirety can be translated as “a place for ritual games.” It served as an important ceremonial and administrative center for the advancement of the Lima culture, a society which developed in the Peruvian Central Coast between the years of 200 AD and 700 AD in the geographic understood by the valleys of Chancay, Chillon, Rimac and Lurin, with occupation and influence in the middle and upper parts of these respectively.
With the intended purpose of having the elite clergymen (whom politically governed several valleys in the area) express their complete religious power and ability to control the use of all the natural water resources (saltwater and freshwater) of the zone, a Great Pyramid was constructed in the Huaca.
As a whole, the structure is surrounded by a plaza, or central square, that borders the outer limits, and by a large structured wall dividing it into two separate sections. In one section there were benches and evidence of deep pits where offerings of fish and other marine life took place in order to attain the favor of the gods. The other section is an administrative area. This area contains various small clay structures and huts made of adobe–with some walls still standing–whose function seemed to be to act as the courtyards and patios of the enclosure which is over 500 meters in length, 100 in width and 22 in height.
Other remains have been uncovered belonging to the Wari culture (500 AD-900 AD), which was a direct influence on the Lima Culture society towards the ends of its time period. Of particular note are the remains of the “Señor de los Unkus” (The Lord of the Unkus), which belonged to the first tomb within the ceremonial center to have been discovered completely intact. This tomb holds three separate burial shrouds containing the remains of three adults–two of which have masks–and those of a sacrificed child.
TOUR ITINERARY
Peru Adventure Tour offers two depart for this tour; this can be at 8am or 1pm beginning from your hotel located around Miraflores or Lima.
Don’t forget to tell us at booking time what time do you like to depart for this tour.
The tour begins with guided visit to the pre-Columbian archaeological site located in Miraflores called Huaca Pucllana or Huaca Juliana, which contains plenty general information about the Lima culture and the main finding of the Huacas.
Continue with the tour we drive to Parque El Olivar (Olive grove) this is located in the quite district of San Isidro. San Isidro is known as the “garden district of Lima”, has vast green areas of olive forest. It dates back to end of Colony, its beastliness and location has been its main attraction. Surroundings, the first residences were built. It conserves some old big houses of the beginning of century
The final point of this guided tour is the visit to one of most important archaeological museum of Peru.
This museum is awesome, the new galleries of potteries, the museography is very interesting! In the first galleries, you get to know about all the pre-Columbian civilizations in a geographical and chronological way. Then the visit becomes more thematic: Textiles, jewelry, sacrifice, the Syncretism (the fusion between the Pre-Columbian and Spanish artistic style).
The mansion seemed really impressive. It is more like the sensation of entering a familial mansion, all painted white and where you expect giggles and children playing hide and seek in the garden. It even smelled of it. The colonial mansion overlooks wonderful gardens, the whole place appeals to all your senses and goes beyond just a “pretty” garden. The mesmerizing whiteness of the building is qualified by the blend of the various colors coming from all the flowers, the cactus and the birds and butterflies gently fluttering around them.
You get easily stricken and overwhelmed by the smell of bougainvilleas, orchids, geraniums, blue plumbagos, and many typical flowers from Peru.
The interior is nicely designed with the right white walls and lightings. First, it gives an overall history of Peru, and then it walks you through the Chimu and Inca Empire. As you travel through time, you can't help but to get a deeper understanding of the Peruvian history. It has a great collection of artifacts including stone statue, wood-crafted statue, jewelry, pottery, etc.
The Larco Museum is warm and welcoming, probably because it is the story of four generations of art lovers who have devoted their entire lives to creating an exquisite place to share their passion and to extend their family to all the visitors.
This tour ends in your hotel after 5 hours of amazing pre-Columbian experience.
