Peruvian Gold Relic Unveiled - MMFA 2013

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

February 2 - June 16,   2013

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts has unveiled yesterday,  January 24, 2013, the most striking and valued relic that is going to be the centre piece of the museum's upcoming exhibition Peru: Kingdoms of the Sun and the Moon – Identities and Conquest in the Ancient, Colonial and Modern Eras.

This golden Mochica octopus artefact is from the North Coast of Peru. It is estimated to be from 200 B.C.- 600 A.D. It is really a forehead ornament: a representation of a terrifying sea god with eight tentacles, with a feline head and octopus arms ending in catfish heads. 

This relic was dubbed “Peruvian Mona Lisa” by the international press. It now serves as a symbol of the war on art trafficking following an incredible story that began in 1988. In fact, this ornament was intercepted in a London gallery by Scotland Yard, following a tip from an informer in 2004. It was recovered in 2006 by the Peruvian authorities and returned to the Museo de la Nación in Lima.

This head ornament will be exhibited in Montreal with additional 370 works of art (paintings, sculptures, gold and silver ornaments, pottery, photographs, works on paper, textiles and videos) which came from almost fifty public and private collections, spanning 3,000 years of history and including archaeological discoveries in recent decades.

Why was this piece referred to as Peru's Mona Lisa? It does have an unusual grin which, however, has absolutely nothing to do with the Leonardo da Vinci's portrait of Mona Lisa - the symbol of feminine beauty and grace, and of the most enigmatic smile for which the painting is internationally renowned.  Maybe the Mona Lisa name, given to the Peruvian relic, was meant to primarily reflect the artefact's great cultural and monetary value, comparable to that of the Leonardo da Vinci's painting?

The two photos, one just above and the other below this paragraph, clearly show to what an extend the creature's grin is terrifying. This artefact - the forehead ornament - was most likely worn during human sacrifices and symbolizes the underworld. It reflects an ancient religion centred around human sacrificial death, and represents a vicious symbolism, judging from this demi-god's intense, scary and quite unpleasant expression.

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts' website.