Living in Peru : your everyday companion

By Diana P. Olano

The largest private collection of pre-Columbian ceramics in the world call its home Museo Larco, located in the the city of Lima. Housing 45,000 pieces, it is considered one of the finest museums in all of Lima. However, don’t be surprised if you see visitors leave the museum with blushing cheeks and grins on their faces. Museo Larco’s collection is mainly based on pieces from the Moche Dynasty (A.D 200-700), a civilization who lived near what today is Trujillo in northern Peru. They were the ones who created the titillating art anyone familiar with Peruvian culture loves in secret; the art that focuses on every aspect of daily life, which for the Moche included making music, visiting their rulers, burying the dead, going to war… and oh yeah, having sex.

Supposedly ruled by a God-king who maintained his power through human sacrifice, the Moche culture was one of the largest in pre-Columbian America. The civilization was made up of rulers, warriors, craftsmen, and farmers, a very skilled people. The Moche established their states—located throughout several valleys in the north coast of Peru—through conflict and conquest. Their culture is especially recognized for their gold work, monumental constructions, irrigation systems and, of course, painted ceramics. The they had no form of writing, researchers have learned about them through their architecture and art. Theories as to why the culture eventually collapsed include environmental changes—such as a super El Nino—which resulted in decades of extreme rainfall and then drought, as well as the loss of faith in their god. However, recent evidence also suggests of a foreign influence taking over, possibly the Huari civilization invasion. Whatever the cause, the Moche people are remembered to this day thanks to the incredible architecture and art they left behind.

Despite the fact they were pioneers in the use of press molds to produce large numbers of ceramic pieces, the Moche made some of the most varied pottery in the world. They realistically depicted the figures (humans, animals and even plants) and activities of the Moche civilization. Humans were shown to have “personality”, with pieces showing someone deep in though, someone angry, someone laughing, and so on.

And while the detail that encompasses Moche art should be emphasized, people can’t help but focus on the erotic art they created. The Moche didn’t skimp out in details when it came to this subject, either. At least 500 pieces of Moche erotic pottery are known to exist and a huge percentage of other pieces have related themes, such as dancing skeletons with erect penises and war captives with exposed genitalia. The pieces featuring an outstanding number of different sexual acts, all which clearly show the interaction and use of the hands, nipples, genitals, anus, mouth and tongue.

Researchers have found that the art is not only fascinating because of the multitude of ways in which sexual acts are depicted, but also because procreative coitus was only shown in limited ways: when the female wore two braids which ended in snake’s heads, when the male wore ceremonial garb and when the act occurred in a ceremonial building. In these cases, bystanders were also depicted, watching the couple in the building and holding hands. No one has come up with a reasoning behind that particular detail.

While erotic Moche art has many questions that surround it, art that featured their people in battle turned out to be something all together different. At first glance, war pieces discovered by archaeologists appeared to be just that, but upon closer inspection, the noticed some interesting nuances. All the soldiers were dressed similarly. If a battle was won, the conquered with ritually sacrificed, with their throats being cut and the blood being drunk by their god. Archaeologists eventually realized that the ceramics didn’t tell their war stories, but exposed a culture who practiced ritual combat and human sacrifice.

Recent Moche-related discoveries include a mummified Moche woman found in 2005, in the outskirts of Trujillo and believed to be the best preserved Moche mummy located to date, as well as a lavish gold mask artifact looted in the late 1980's and found in 2006 in the home of a Londoner (the mask was eventually returned to Peru). Moche ceramics and their sexy subject matter, however, continue to be the biggest draw for those looking into the culture. Make a trip to Museo Larco and check out what all the fuss is about. You won't be disappointed.