Les rois mochica: Divinité et pouvoir dans le Pérou ancien

For its reopening, the Musée d’Ethnographie de Genève (MEG) is holding a world-premiere exhibition of the treasures from a royal Moche tomb that was excavated by Steve Bourget and his team in the summer of 2008. The hitherto unseen pieces from the Huaca El Pueblo archaeological site near the village of Ucupe on the north coast of Peru form the nucleus of this exhibition, which will be on view until May 3, 2015. It also features exceptional pieces from other royal tombs, including those of Sipán and Dos Cabezas. With more than 300 works, of which sixty are on loan from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture and 180 from European museums including those of Berlin, Stuttgart, and Schaffhausen, Les rois mochica. Divinité et pouvoir dans le Pérou ancien (Moche Kings: Divinity and Power in Ancient Peru) is an homage to one of the most important of the Pre-Columbian Peruvian civilizations, which flourished between the first and eighth centuries. The show will be accompanied by an ambitious program of related activities.

  Visit the official MEG website.

Images and information courtesy of MEG

Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes

Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes, on view through September 8 at the Kimbell Art Museum in Forth Worth, Texas explores the artistic accomplishments of the Wari culture of Peru through some 140 works in polychrome ceramic, precious metals, mosaic, wood and stone, and more. Organized originally by the Cleveland Museum of Art, these works paint a picture of the Wari state and offer insights into their expansion strategies.

For more information, visit the exhibition's official website.

Images courtesy of the Kimbell Art Museum

Native American and Pre-Columbian Art Auction

On March 25, auctioneers EVE will present two sales of ancient American art at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. The first, smaller group of lots will highlight the Hopi art collection of Yves Berger, including a compelling range of katsina. The second sale will focus on sculptural and ceramic pre-Columbian art from Mexico to South America.

Visit the official EVE website.

Information and images courtesy of EVE

The Barbier-Mueller Collection at Sotheby's

On March 22 & 23, selections from the exquisite Barbier-Mueller Collection of Pre-Columbian Art will be offered at Sotheby's Paris. Formerly held by the Museu Barbier-Mueller d'Art Precolombí in Barcelona, these masterpieces of ancient American art will now find new homes at auction. Featuring over 300 lots, the sale will offer an astonishing array of works in stone, metal, and ceramic from traditional cultures stretching from Mexico to Peru. A few highlights from the sale can be found below. For complete information on this momentous auction, view the official online catalogue at the Sotheby's website.

Figure of Chalchiuhtlicue, Goddess of Water  -  Aztec, Mexico  -  1300–1521 AD

Female figure with stepped-cross motifs  -  Chupicuaro, Mexico  -  ca. 400 BC

Seated figure  -  Olmec, Mexico  -  900–600 BC

Information and images courtesy of Sotheby's