Larco
Museum 2
About the
museum
The Larco Museum was founded in 1926 by Rafael Larco Hoyle, a
pioneer of Peruvian archaeology, and houses a fascinating collection of
pre-Columbian art of approximately 45,000 archaeological pieces.
Located in an 18th century viceregal mansion and surrounded by
beautiful gardens, the Larco Museum is a space that stimulates and inspires,
and where you can enjoy and understand the fascinating history of ancient Peru.
Mission and vision
The mission of the Larco Museum is to inspire our visitors by
making them discover, understand and appreciate pre-Columbian Peru. In order to
achieve this objective, we have sought to turn the museum into a comprehensive
experience.
Ultimately, our vision is to become the gateway to ancient
Peru.
Directory
Executive Presidency
Andres Alvarez Calderon Larco
Address
Ulla Holmquist Pachas
direccioncultural@museolarco.org
General management
Rosa Maria Novack
General information
info@museolarco.org
institutional relations
samantha@museolarco.org
International relations
rocio@museolarco.org
communications
community@museolarco.org
Collection Curation and Academic Affairs
curatorship@museolarco.org
Registration and cataloging
registro@museolarco.org
Education
education@museolarco.org
Conservation
Rafael Larco Hoyle (1901-1966)
Biography
He was a notable Peruvian scholar who excelled in
various disciplines of knowledge, such as archaeology, agricultural
engineering, finance, and native history. He was a sponsor and explorer of
countless expeditions in which important pieces of pre-Columbian manufacture
were discovered. Ceramics, metals and textiles were some of those pieces. He
also found writing samples from these civilizations. He delved into systematic
research, analysis, and registration of the original cultures of the Republic
of Peru: the Chavín, the Paracas, the Cupisniques, the Tiahuanacos or Huari,
and the Mochica. Larco Hoyle managed to gather important archaeological
material of such great historical and patrimonial value for his native country.
In the year 1926 he decided to found a museum to expose his collection to the
general public. The museum was named after his father, Rafael Larco Herrera,
who was his model and inspired his passion for the art of Peru. This museum
constitutes one of the most important cultural treasures of the Peruvian
nation. Biography Birth and early years Rafael Carlos Víctor Constante Larco
Hoyle was born on May 18, 1901 into a wealthy family in Peru. He came into the
world on the Chiclín farm, in the city of Trujillo. He was the son of the
politician and businessperson Rafael Larco Herrera, of Italian descent; and
Esther Hoyle, of English descent. Rafael Larco Hoyle held a dense and
prestigious lineage, since his two families (both the paternal and the
maternal) had economic and political power and great social influence. Rafael
Larco, was prepared from a young age to occupy important positions within the
family businesses.
He
attended primary school at the exclusive Modern Institute, located in Trujillo.
He then attended the First Benemérito National
College of the Republic Our Lady of Guadalupe. This is a Lima institution from
which the best of Peruvian citizens have graduated. At the age of 13, he was
sent to the US to study at Tome High School in Maryland. At the age of 18, he
traveled to New York to enroll at Cornell University, a private institution
where he studied Agronomy. When he was 21 years old, he studied engineering at
New York University, and the following year he enrolled to graduate in Business
Administration and Financial Studies. His professional profile, in the
theoretical field, was almost ready to take over the reins and lead the
family's sugar companies on his native Chiclín hacienda. He just lacked
practice; for this, he traveled to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and some European
countries. life as an entrepreneur Upon returning to Peru, he married Isolina
Felicita Debernardi Alva. She already had a daughter named Carola Margarita, to
whom Rafael gave her last name despite not being the biological fruit of the
union. Later, his biological daughter, María Isabel, was born. In 1924, Rafael
Larco Hoyle had already taken control and direction of the family's sugar
company in the Chicana Valley. He took care of modernizing it and implementing
excellent social conditions for his workers.
This researcher and businessperson
had the privilege of being born in northern Peru. This is an area rich in
pre-Inca vestiges, many of which he found on his property.
His passion for these archaeological
treasures was such that he undertook numerous expeditions in the company of his
family and friends. His objective was to dig and find more elements with which
to enlarge his already large collection of aboriginal objects.
He wrote multiple works that
documented his archaeological findings, which constitute an important legacy
for the understanding and study of the first civilizations settled in the
Andean territory.
Death
He passed away on October 23, 1966.
He left the best of gifts to his native land: the rescue of his memory and
culture.
Contributions by Rafael Larco Hoyle
He contributed to the chronological
ordering of the different cultural phases of the Peruvian aboriginal
settlements: from the most outstanding to the most discreet. This meant a new
way of organizing previous studies, as well as an interesting way of
approaching the culture of Peru.
He classified these phases into seven
periods:
I- From pre-ceramic
II- From the beginning of ceramics.
III- Evolutionary (or formative).
IV- Of the boom.
V - Fusional.
VI - Imperial.
VII- Of the Conquest.
His work represented a milestone in
the studies on the original settlers, since before him these investigations had
been entrusted to foreign researchers (German and North American).
This renowned Latin American
researcher demolished many of the theories of foreign archaeologists who tried
to teach Peruvians about the origin and evolution of their own culture.
Achievements
– Due to his hard investigative work,
Rafael Larco Hoyle deserved the title of founder of the archaeology of Peru. He
shares this honour with another archaeologist and colleague, Julio César Tello.
– He was the pioneer in finding
archaeological veins in the towns of Cupisnique, Queneto, Salinar, Pacopampa,
Barbacoa and Virú.
– He dismantled theories of renowned
archaeologists by stating that the remains of Punkurí are older than the Chavín
sanctuary; the latter is considered the cradle of Andean civilizations. Larco
maintained that Peruvian cultural development began in the north of the
country, later radiating to the south.
He initiated the study of the lithic
points of the locality of Paiján.
– He postulated as viable the
symbolic communication system of the native groups of Peru. They transmitted
his ideas through the use of a type of seed or spotted bean, known in the region
as Pallares(Quechua language. He
promoted the theory of pallariform writing. This takes the natural spot
patterns of these legumes to create a kind of graphic code or hieroglyphics for
the dissemination of messages.
Memberships
Rafael Larco Hoyle was named a member
of several recognized associations in Latin America and Europe.
Among these organizations are the
following: Geographical Society of Lima, Argentine Society of Anthropology,
Archaeological Society of Bolivia, Scientific Society of Valparaíso, the
Societé des Americanistes of Paris, The American Geographical Society and the
Rotary Club.
Cite this article: Lifer. (December
15, 2022). Rafael Larco Hoyle. Retrieved from:
https://www.lifeder.com/rafael-larco-hoyle/.
Some
important cultural works of Peru preserved by the Larco Museum
Editor's note: The
material offered below are personal photos
Fabrics
Woven
funeral bundle
Ruben
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