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narratives that allowed them to explain theworld around them. Theirmagnificent pieces explain how this societywas able to tell their stories, beliefs, myths and rites through ceramic objects and how their leaders expressed their power anddivine ancestry through their clothing and the attributes of sacred animals. The exhibitionbrings together 200pieces of Peruvian pre-Columbian art from Lima’sMuseo Larco: fine ceramic vessels, jewels and ceremonial objectsmade of precious metals, aswell as delicate textiles andobjectswith feathers, aswell as various ritual objectsmade of wood, stone, shell andbone. The societies of ancient Peruwere farming societies that developed in a rather unique and challenging land. The highAndes almost reach the sky, and thewaters that the arid coast depends on for its fertility fall here. Next to this desert coast there is abountiful sea that provides food all year long. In this land humans have had to learn to control and use thewater that came ‘from above’, and to sow andprepare the land ‘frombelow’ where their food cropswouldgrow. This visionof theworld the ancient Peruvians lived inwas depicted in their art, especially on their ceramicpots, beautiful fabrics, gold and silver decorations andwooden and stone sculptures that were,many years ago, ceremonial objects. In their vastmajority, thepieces are from tombs of peoplewhohad a special role inpre-Columbian societies. Their forms, structures and images have religiousmeanings and symbolicmessages. Pre-Columbian artistic objects not only show us the great quality and technological mastery attainedby the artists of the various societies of ancient Peru, but they alsobringus closer to their way of understanding theworld, thepeoplewho lived in it, and the established relations between them. They developed and interesting concept of space and time and social relationships inpairs involving complementary opposites that come together, thus producing something newout of this encounter. They also had the notionof two worlds, ‘above’ or exterior, and ‘below’ and interior, and the contact between themwere sharedby the various Andean societies. The transit, interaction anddynamism that existedbetween the twoworldswere expressed through tiered, spiral and scrolledmotifs that were frequently used in thepre-Columbian visual communication art system and became symbols that would last in time. Sculptures and ceramic containers, woven capes and clothes,metal vessels and body decorations, wooden, shell and stone carvings are all objects that their creator built tomake sense of their cultural system. Artistic objectswere highly symbolic visual communication systems, andwere used to explain themain ideas of Andean thinking such as complementary dualism, interactionbetweenworlds and the constant regenerationof life. Through their art, we havebeen able to findout about theMochica veneration for certain sacred animals, some of them turned intodivinebeings, such as felines, birds, snakes, pumas or jaguars. Thesewere frequently representedon ceremonial objects or on thedecoration of temples, palaces andmausolea.Many of their ritual ceremonies andwars are reflected in their artisticdepictions. Humanheads are another recurring theme in the art of Ancient Peru: they appear embossedongoldor silver or moulded intopots. However, themost important ceremonieswere those related to fertility, sacrifice and theworshipof thedead. In all of them the offering and exchange of fluidswas essential. For this reason, they occasionally offered their gods themost precious liquid they had: humanblood or thebloodof sacrificed animals. According toAndean cosmology, deathwas not considered the endof life, but the transit fromoneworld to another, from the earthworld above to the subterraneanworlddownbelow. This transit had tobe accompaniedby a ceremony and a sufficiently representative ritual that would ensure that thedeadwould get to their destination; this explains the great importance of their funeral rituals. Gold and silver wereparticularly important toAndean cultures, not for their economic value, but for their expressionof thepower of the stars and their descendants, their rulers. Gold shone like theSun; silver like theMoon and the stars. These heavenly bodies dominated the sky day and night, and for ancient Peruvian societies theywere sacred. Sound and light were considered supernatural for their ethereal and intangible character.When they discovered the existence of shinymetals, the governing elites controlled mining activity and theproductionofmetal objects. They monopolized their use through controllingmetallurgical production, thusmaking themselves the only peoplewho received themythological messageswritten into these exclusive objects. The jewellers thatmade thesepieces enjoyed aprivileged social position close to the rulers thanks to their role as themakers ofmagical processes that turned elements from nature intobrilliant sonorous objects that were apparently eternal. Narigueraque representa a un personaje conuna soga/ Nose ornament symbolising a carácter with a rope. Mochica/ Moche , 100-800d.C./AD. Oro y turquesa/Gold and turquoise. © ArchivoMuseo Larco 103