Peru - Lonely Planet Publications [33]
Crafts
Peru has a long tradition of producing extraordinarily rendered crafts and folk art. Intricate textiles have an extensive history among both Andean and coastal indigenous cultures, who have long woven rugs, ponchos and wall hangings decorated with elaborate anthropomorphic designs and graphic elements. On the coast, Paracas is historically famous for its weaving: a stellar textile featuring felines, serpents and birds, held in the Museo Larco in Lima (Click here), is more than 1000 years old.
* * *
For a visual overview of some of the most stunning works of pre-Columbian ceramic portraiture, pick up Moche Portraits from Ancient Peru by Christopher Donnan.
* * *
Pottery is also well developed. The most stunning designs are those made in the tradition of the Moche people of the northern coast, who thrived for six centuries from AD 100. Vases and other vessels are made to depict humans in a realist style. The most famous of these – the huacos eróticos – depict a variety of sexual acts. Increasingly popular is pottery made in the Chancay style: cartoonish figures crafted with sand-colored clay and painted with brown ink. In the north, the contemporary, rounded black-and-white pottery made in the village of Chulucanas (Click here) is also popular.
Religious crafts are bountiful in most regions, with the retablos (three-dimensional dioramas) of Ayacucho being particularly renowned. Other popular items include hand-tooled leather, filigree jewelry in gold and silver, woven baskets and religious icons. Contemporary indigenous textiles, pottery and crafts, as well as replicas of historical pieces, can easily be found in crafts markets in Lima (Click here), Ayacucho (Click here), Cuzco (Click here), Arequipa (Click here) and Chulucanas (Click here).
* * *
THE MACHU PICCHU ARTIFACTS: PERU VersuS YALE UNIVERSITY
When Hiram Bingham – the American explorer who told the world about Machu Picchu – left Peru after his final expedition in 1915, he could have never imagined that the pottery, bones and utensils (not to mention several mummies) he carted back to the USA would become the source of diplomatic friction between the United States and Peru almost a hundred years later.
When Bingham made his discoveries, in excursions that were financed by the National Geographic Society and Yale University, Peruvian law explicitly forbade the export of archaeological artifacts. Bingham, however, got a special one-time exemption so that he could study his Machu Picchu finds – under the condition that he return them to Peru by 1918. As part of the agreement, it was acknowledged that ultimate ownership of the artifacts resided with Peru.
Almost a century later, Yale still holds a vast majority of the pieces (which apparently number in the thousands), much to the dismay of the Peruvian government. With the university unwilling to return the objects, Peru threatened a lawsuit in 2005, but pulled back after both parties entered into negotiations. In 2007, a tentative settlement was announced: Yale would recognize Peru’s title to the artifacts – but as part of the agreement, most of the pieces would remain in the USA for another century for the purpose of study. Eventually, the deal collapsed, and in late 2008 Peru officially filed suit against the university in US federal court. At the time of research, Yale had moved to dismiss the case. (The university’s spokespeople have said that it is not clear whether the agreement Bingham had with the Peruvian government covered artifacts discovered on all three of his Machu Picchu expeditions or just the last one.) National Geographic’s board of trustees, in the meantime, announced its unanimous position that the pieces should be returned to Peru. The response from Yale on that count has been silence.
* * *
Dance
The national