Folia archeologica 27.

Borsányi László: Perui aranykincsek kiállítás a Magyar Nemzeti Múzeumban

GOLD TREASURES OF PERU exhibition in the Hungarian National Museum The exhibition of the Gold Museum of Peru, embracing 250 pieces, chosen from the finest gold treasures of ancient South American cultures, was displayed in Hungary between the 3rd October and 16th November, 1975, in the Hungarian National Museum. The valuable Precolumbian gold collection of an international reputation came to Hungary through the mediation of the Institute of Cultural Relations, as the reciprocation of the "Hungarian Week", held in Peru in autumn 1974. The Gold Museum was founded by the Lima businessman Miguel Mujica Gallo. His small private collection, consisting of a couple of gold tumi

s (gold sacrificial knives) increased between 1936 and 1960 to the extent that it now represents an unique gold collection of more than 5000 objects. For his collection, standing under national protection, Mr. Mujica Gallo had a modern underground museum built, named "Gold Museum of Peru". Exhibitions from its material, organized abroad, have been received with a remarkable interest, and since the first foreign exhibition in 1958, Hungary is the thirty-first country, Budapest the forty-first city where its gold treasures have been displayed. The collection sphere of the Museum embraces the coastal zone of Peru as well as the eareas of the Peruvian and Bolivian plateaux. This territory may have been the most important gold centre of the New World; the beginnings of South American metallurgy reach back, in all probability, here. Gold, used by persons standing on the top of the social hierarchy, seems to have been the material symbolizing the Sun, having a vital importance for cultures based on agriculture. The efficiency of agriculture and increase of fertility was sought through a sequence of certain rites. Ritual objects, as crowns, masks, nose rings, ear-ornaments, pectorals, arms, were made of gold, gilt copper, or silver. Goldsmiths formed, moreover phantastical animal and human figures of mythical images, also connected with the rites. The material coming from different sites of the territory was assorted in this exhibition according to a chronological order. On the coastal area of Ancient Peru about 2000 B. C. agricultural population groups were settled; from this time on a gradual evolution of agriculture, and of different handicrafts, among them metallurgy, can be observed. In the first showcase of Room 1 the Paracas and Vicus finds, characteristic for this period, and dated to the first millennium B.C., were displayed. Nose-ornaments of various forms, cut from thinly hammered gold sheet, were decorated with repoussé work. The earliest metal objects of South America were all made of such gold or copper sheets, hammered to a slight tenuity; we know of Paracas masks 0.04-0.06 mm thick. In the first century of our era in Peru centres with developed handicraft industries came into being, occupied later by states which were characterized by classical cultures. The exhibition displayed objects coming from Mochica on the North coast as well as from Nazca on the South coast, these being two of the most important centres. The Mochica material was found, in its majority, in graves or caves in the environment of the small townofFrias in the Peruvian district Piura. It is characterized by a high puritv of gold over 20 carats, showing a fine yellow colour. Alongside repoussé objects, goldsmith's works executed by a simple casting technique, or by cire perdue process, occur as well. Besides small animal figurines, idols, pendants and ear-ornaments, one of the finest specimens of this culture is a coca bag in the form of a stylized puma. Among the great number of depilatory tweezers there is an outstanding specimen consisting of an alloy of platinum and gold. It was produced by the primitive technology of powder metallurgy, hammering the platinum, heated together with gold-nuggets, to the form wanted. The Nazca culture was represented primarily by finds from the southern coastlandof Peru in the environment of lea; objects of an outstanding quality are the stylized bird figurines of a fragile beauty, made of a thin gold lamina, and the exceptionally fine ritual "oral masks", covering the whole fact.