Gold Museum of Peru and Arms of the World
The Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World is a Peruvian museum, located in Lima.
History
In the 1960s, Miguel Mujica Gallo used his private collection, gathered throughout his life, to open the "Gold Museum of Peru and Weapons of the World", located in the district of Santiago de Surco. It is in a two-story building made of reinforced concrete and accessed through a vault-style entrance.
The museum was donated to the state of Perú by Gallo and is now administered by Foundation Miguel Mujica Gallo, which is currently directed by Victoria Mujica Diez Canseco.[1]
Collection
Gold of Peru
Gallo's acquisition of more than seven thousand artifacts was inspired by an admiration for Peruvian history. He desired to leave a legacy to this country as homage to the Peruvian pre-Columbian cultures in its various manifestations, containing materials such as precious metals like gold, silver and some of platinum, multiple textiles, ceramics, mummies and other valuable objects.
The collection demonstrates what the Spanish found when they came to South America, resulting in fighting between the ancient Peruvians and the Spanish. The collection is valued at over $10 million. The works were found mostly in the Republican era and acquired at the time by They demonstrated advances in metallurgy, customs, beliefs and life.
Gold and silver are ubiquitous in the complex religious and magical symbolism of Peruvian cultures. For pre-Inca civilizations, these metals represented the sun-moon, day-night, male-female duality. In the Inca Empire, the sun god or Inti represented sovereignty on the divine plane and Mama Killa ("mother moon"), the moon goddess, was Inti's wife, mother of the sky. The Temple of the Sun is an order of priestesses.
The forms that these metals acquired indicated the seniority and power of those who used them and their importance for burials. The ancient Peruvians developed techniques unknown to Europeans at the time, such as adding color to other metal surfaces with gold or silver plating.
Four pre-Incan cultures stood out at the highest level of goldsmithy. They are Vicus, Moche, Sican and Chimu that developed on the northern coast of Peru. The Inca Empire was richer in possession of metal objects in gold and silver and the quality and finesse of its finished than its predecessors.
Victoria Mujica, referring to historical documents found in the Archive of the Indies, cites one that says:
In the magnificent temple of Koricancha (Cusco) was a solid gold disc the size of a wagon wheel representing the sun god, golden idols-size human figure with gold and silver llamas also life-size and many of the same metal plates covering the walls of the temple.
Arms of the world
Gallo also collected weapons from around the world. The oldest dated from the 13th century.
Twenty thousand weapons of all times and countries are exhibited in the museum. This collection is one of the world's foremost, for its quantity, quality, superb condition and the famous original holders.
The collection also includes military uniforms, saddles, armor, spurs and other objects that define the early through time and characters of history for more than three thousand and three hundred years.
Controversy
In the early 2000s, accusations arose that a vast majority of gold pieces in the museum were false.[2] The BBC reported that "The Consumer Defense Institute has examined 4,257 artifacts from the Peruvian Museum of Gold and concluded they were 'false without a shadow of a doubt'.[3]
References
External links
- Media related to Museo Oro del Perú at Wikimedia Commons
- Official Website Museum Gold of Peru and Weapons of the World
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- Balconies of Lima
- Basilica and Convent of Nuestra Señora de la Merced
- Monument
- Plazoleta
- Basilica and Convent of San Francisco
- Basilica and Convent of San Pedro
- Basilica of Santo Domingo
- Casa de Aliaga
- Casa de Divorciadas
- Casa de Osambela
- Casa de Pilatos
- Casa del Oidor
- Casa Goyeneche
- Casa Hacienda Punchauca
- Casa Matusita
- Casa O'Higgins
- Casa Riva-Agüero
- Casona of the National University of San Marcos
- Cathedral Basilica of Lima
- Sanctuary
- Cementerio Presbítero Matías Maestro
- Church of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph
- Church of Saint Catherine of Siena
- Church of Saint Lazarus
- Church of the Good Death
- Church of the Holy Christ of Wonders
- Church of the Orphans
- Church of Our Lady of Copacabana
- Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
- Church of Our Lady of Patronage
- Church of Saint Anne
- Church of Saint Augustine
- Church of Saint Liberata
- Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
- Convent of Our Lady of the Angels
- Cuartel Barbones
- Fort of Santa Catalina
- Iglesia de la Recoleta
- Mogrovejo Hospital
- Monastery of Saint Rose of Lima
- National Mint of Peru
- Palacio de la Magdalena
- Palacio de Torre Tagle
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- Plaza de toros de Acho
- Real Felipe Fortress
- Royal College of the University of San Marcos
- Royal Hospital of Saint Andrew
- Sanctuary and Monastery of Las Nazarenas
- Sanctuary of Saint Rose of Lima
- Seminario de Lima
- St. Clare's Monastery
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- Trinitarian Church
- Walls of Lima
- Archbishop's Palace
- Association of Amateur Artists
- Atlas Building
- Bar Cordano
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- Begonias Tower
- Casa Arenas Loayza
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- Casa del Pueblo
- Casa Fernandini, Lima
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- Casa Roosevelt
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- Chinatown
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- Church of Our Lady of the Forsaken
- Club de la Unión
- Club Nacional
- Country Club Lima Hotel
- Cristo del Pacífico
- Delfines Hotel & Convention Center
- Desamparados station
- Diez de Octubre School
- Eduardo Dibos Colosseum
- El Ángel Cemetery
- Gamarra
- Government Palace
- Gran Hotel Bolívar
- Gran Hotel Maury
- Guadalupe College
- Hermitage of Barranco
- Hospital Civil de la Misericordia
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- Immaculate Heart of Mary Church
- Institute of Hygiene
- Interbank Building
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- La Atarjea
- La Colmena Building
- La Rosa Náutica
- Larcomar
- Library of Congress
- Lima Civic Center
- Legislative Palace
- Lima Convention Center
- Lima Stock Exchange Building
- Luis Gálvez Chipoco Stadium
- Mesa Redonda
- Monumental Stadium
- Morro Solar War Monument
- Mosque of Lima
- National Geographic Institute
- National Library of Peru
- National Maternal Perinatal Institute
- National Stadium of Peru
- Palacio de la Exposición
- Palacio de Miraflores
- Palacio Municipal
- Palace of Justice
- Petroperú Building
- Public Ministry of Peru
- Quinta Heeren
- Quinta Leuro
- Quinta Presa
- Rospigliosi Castle
- Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus Church
- Sheraton Lima Historic Center
- Stone of Taulichusco
- The Westin Lima Hotel & Convention Center
- Torre Banco de la Nación
- Aeronautical Museum
- Bodega y Quadra Museum
- Canout Theatre
- Casa Grau Naval Museum
- Combatants of the Morro de Arica Museum
- DIRCOTE Museum
- Gold Museum of Peru and Arms of the World
- Gran Teatro Nacional
- José Carlos Mariátegui Museum
- Larco Museum
- Lima Art Museum
- Metropolitan Museum
- Morro Solar Planetarium
- Municipal Theatre Museum
- Museum of Congress and the Inquisition
- Museum of Contemporary Art
- Museum of the Brain
- Museum of the Central Reserve Bank of Peru
- Museum of Elections and Democracy
- Museum of Italian Art
- Museum of Natural History
- National Afro-Peruvian Museum
- National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History
- National Museum
- National Museum of Peruvian Culture
- Naval Museum
- Pinacotheca of Lima
- Teatro Colón
- Teatro Municipal
- Teatro Peruano Japonés
- Teatro Segura
- Cinco esquinas
- Jirón de la Unión
- Pasaje Olaya
- Paseo de los Héroes Navales
- Las llamas
- La yunta
- Paseo Colón
- Columbus Statue
- Pizza Blvd.
- Plaza de la Bandera
- Plaza Bolívar
- Plaza Bolognesi
- Plaza de la Democracia
- Plaza Dos de Mayo
- Plaza Francia
- Statue of Liberty
- Plaza Grau
- Monument
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- Plaza Mayor
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- Monument
- Plaza San Martín
- Plazuela de las Artes
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- Alameda Chabuca Granda
- Alameda de los Descalzos
- Bridge of Sighs
- Campo de Marte
- Costa Verde Pan-American Complex
- El Olivar
- Friendship Park
- Heroes of Independence Park
- Huachipa Zoo
- Malecón de Miraflores
- Medicinal Botanical Garden
- Kennedy Park
- Lachay National Reserve
- Pantanos de Villa Wildlife Refuge
- Parque de la Exposición
- Parque de La Muralla
- Parque de la Reserva
- Parque de las Leyendas
- Paseo de Aguas
- Plazuela Chabuca Granda
- Reducto № 2
- University Park
- Antonio Ruiz de Montoya University
- Cayetano Heredia University
- Federico Villarreal National University
- National Superior Autonomous School of Fine Arts
- National University of Engineering
- National University of San Marcos
- Officers' School of the National Police of Peru
- Peruvian University of Applied Sciences
- Pontifical Catholic University of Peru
- Raúl Porras Barrenechea Institute
- Ricardo Palma University
- Technological University of Peru
- University of Engineering and Technology
- University of Lima
- Banco Comercial
- Barranco Lake
- Barranco Zoo
- Cabildo of Lima
- Casa Alcántara
- Casa Marcionelli
- Casa Oechsle
- Casa Tenaud
- Church of Our Lady of the Forsaken
- Cine Tauro
- El Sexto Prison
- Gate of Lima
- Giacoletti Building
- Great Clock of Lima
- Hipódromo de San Felipe
- Hipódromo de Santa Beatriz
- Lima Penitentiary
- Limatambo Airport
- Limatambo Building
- Marsano Palace
- Moorish Arch
- Museo de la Nación
- National Stadium
- San Jorge Prison
- San Martín barracks
- Venetian Palace
- Saint Paul's College
- Viceregal Palace
12°06′28″S 76°57′59″W / 12.10778°S 76.96639°W / -12.10778; -76.96639