Priceless exhibition from Peru delayed

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1 July 2003

Priceless exhibition from Peru delayed

A major exhibition due to open at Auckland Museum next week, has been delayed pending final approval for export from Peru.

The exhibition, Gold & Sacrifice: Treasures of Ancient Peru, was due to open to the public on Friday 11 July and is now expected to open one week later.

Director of Auckland Museum, Dr Rodney Wilson said the Museum respected Peru’s rigorous regulations regarding the export of priceless antiquities and was happy to delay the opening to ensure that approval processes could be completed. The exhibition is an important ambassador for Peru, being the most spectacular collection of Pre-Columbian treasures to have visited Australasia.

Rigorous antiquities legislation requires that the export of antiquities from Peru be authorised at the highest Government levels.

The exhibition, which presents the fascinating heritage of the Incas and their ancestors, is now likely to close at the end of September.

Gold & Sacrifice is indemnified by the New Zealand government and is supported by sponsors, Walker & Hall, and LanChile.

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Notes for Editors
- Gold & Sacrifice: Treasures of Ancient Peru, was scheduled to be on display from 11 July to 21 September 2003.
- The exhibition comes from Peru’s Museo Rafael Larco Herrera, in Lima, Peru and contains precious metals and ceramics which tell the story of Pre-Columbian cultures, from 1200BC, to 1500AD, including the Nazca people (0-700AD), known for their extraordinary ‘Nazca Lines’ constructed in the desert, the Moche, who are known for their ritual human sacrifice.

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