The Brüning Museum in Lambayeque
The Museo Arqueologico Nacional Brüning
The Museo Arqueologico Nacional Brüning, located in the town of Lambayeque on the north coast of Peru, was once the preeminent museum in the north of the country. Lambayeque’s larger, more modern Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan has since stolen top spot from its neighbor, but the Brüning Museum remains a worthy destination in its own right.
The museum was built around the collection of Hans Heinrich Brüning Brookstedt (1848-1928), a Peruvian archaeologist of German descent.
Today, the collection includes metal, ceramic and textile artifacts from the region’s pre-Inca civilizations, such as the Mochica (Moche), Wari, Lambayeque and Chimú cultures.
The town of Lambayeque is located just a few miles north of Chiclayo, a more popular base for travelers. You can visit both the Brüning Museum and Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan as an easy day trip from Chiclayo (tours from Chiclayo are available, but it’s easy enough to go independently).
The Brüning Museum is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm. There is an S/.8 (US$3) entrance fee; English-speaking guides are available for S/.20 (US$7.30). The museum is short on written information, so a guide is a good option (if you can find one -- they seem to be scarce at times).
The Brüning Museum has one distinct advantage over the more formal Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan. While the latter has a strict no photography policy, the former lets you snap away to your heart’s content...
Moche Ceramics in the Brüning Museum
The Brüning Museum houses a fine collection of ceramics from various pre-Inca cultures, including some from the Inca Empire itself.
The pottery of the Moche civilization, which existed in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, serves as a record and illustration of Moche culture. Its ceramics vary greatly, representing everything from powerful leaders to scenes of daily life.
According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, nearly all Moche decorated vessels “are slip painted and bichrome, with red decoration on a white/cream background.” You can see this styling in the image above.
This particular Brüning artifact displays a common theme: fishing. For the civilizations of the north coast, the sea was a vital part of the economy and an important source of food.
Caballitos de Totora
The artifact pictured above represents a fisherman riding a caballito de totora, a traditional water vessel built from reeds. Caballitos de totora have been used along the Peruvian coast for the past 3,000 years. The caballito de totora is represented in a number of ceramic and metal artifacts on display in the Brüning Museum, dating from various civilizations -- Moche and Chimú included.
You can still see caballitos de totora in modern-day Peru, especially along coastlines near traditional fishing communities.
Most fishermen own at least two reed vessels, allowing them to dry one on the beach while taking the other out to sea.
The Brüning Museum's Gold Room
The most impressive section within the Brüning Museum is arguably the Gold Room. Glass-fronted cases line the walls of the darkened space, with each cabinet housing gold artifacts of incredible intricacy.
Much of the gold is of Moche origin, some of which was found at the archaeological site of Huaca Rajada (home of the celebrated El Señor de Sipán, the treasure-laden tomb of the Lord of Sipán). The item pictured above is a golden pectoral, a large decorative item worn around the neck and chest.
The Brüning Museum contains a wide variety of decorative gold items, including necklaces, nose plugs, pendants, masks and headdresses. Rulers, noblemen and priests would have worn these valuable items during state events and religious ceremonies.
If you enjoy finding quirky items in museums, the Brüning Museum won't disappoint. In the image above, you can see a piece of pre-Columbian drug paraphernalia. The imbiber would place ground tobacco or hallucinogenic drugs on the rectangular plate, after which he would inhale the substances using the tube. These substances were used for religious or magical purposes rather than recreationally.
Also keep an eye out for decorative dogs.
You might see a real Peruvian Hairless dog hanging around outside the Brüning Museum -- the metal and gold dogs inside the building are a different native breed, one now long extinct.
The Museo Arqueologico Nacional Brüning, located in the town of Lambayeque on the north coast of Peru, was once the preeminent museum in the north of the country. Lambayeque’s larger, more modern Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan has since stolen top spot from its neighbor, but the Brüning Museum remains a worthy destination in its own right.
The museum was built around the collection of Hans Heinrich Brüning Brookstedt (1848-1928), a Peruvian archaeologist of German descent.
Today, the collection includes metal, ceramic and textile artifacts from the region’s pre-Inca civilizations, such as the Mochica (Moche), Wari, Lambayeque and Chimú cultures.
The town of Lambayeque is located just a few miles north of Chiclayo, a more popular base for travelers. You can visit both the Brüning Museum and Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan as an easy day trip from Chiclayo (tours from Chiclayo are available, but it’s easy enough to go independently).
The Brüning Museum is open every day from 9 am to 5 pm. There is an S/.8 (US$3) entrance fee; English-speaking guides are available for S/.20 (US$7.30). The museum is short on written information, so a guide is a good option (if you can find one -- they seem to be scarce at times).
The Brüning Museum has one distinct advantage over the more formal Museo Tumbas Reales de Sípan. While the latter has a strict no photography policy, the former lets you snap away to your heart’s content...
Moche Ceramics in the Brüning Museum
The Brüning Museum houses a fine collection of ceramics from various pre-Inca cultures, including some from the Inca Empire itself.
The pottery of the Moche civilization, which existed in northern Peru from about 100 AD to 800 AD, serves as a record and illustration of Moche culture. Its ceramics vary greatly, representing everything from powerful leaders to scenes of daily life.
According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, nearly all Moche decorated vessels “are slip painted and bichrome, with red decoration on a white/cream background.” You can see this styling in the image above.
This particular Brüning artifact displays a common theme: fishing. For the civilizations of the north coast, the sea was a vital part of the economy and an important source of food.
Caballitos de Totora
The artifact pictured above represents a fisherman riding a caballito de totora, a traditional water vessel built from reeds. Caballitos de totora have been used along the Peruvian coast for the past 3,000 years. The caballito de totora is represented in a number of ceramic and metal artifacts on display in the Brüning Museum, dating from various civilizations -- Moche and Chimú included.
You can still see caballitos de totora in modern-day Peru, especially along coastlines near traditional fishing communities.
Most fishermen own at least two reed vessels, allowing them to dry one on the beach while taking the other out to sea.
The Brüning Museum's Gold Room
The most impressive section within the Brüning Museum is arguably the Gold Room. Glass-fronted cases line the walls of the darkened space, with each cabinet housing gold artifacts of incredible intricacy.
Much of the gold is of Moche origin, some of which was found at the archaeological site of Huaca Rajada (home of the celebrated El Señor de Sipán, the treasure-laden tomb of the Lord of Sipán). The item pictured above is a golden pectoral, a large decorative item worn around the neck and chest.
The Brüning Museum contains a wide variety of decorative gold items, including necklaces, nose plugs, pendants, masks and headdresses. Rulers, noblemen and priests would have worn these valuable items during state events and religious ceremonies.
If you enjoy finding quirky items in museums, the Brüning Museum won't disappoint. In the image above, you can see a piece of pre-Columbian drug paraphernalia. The imbiber would place ground tobacco or hallucinogenic drugs on the rectangular plate, after which he would inhale the substances using the tube. These substances were used for religious or magical purposes rather than recreationally.
Also keep an eye out for decorative dogs.
You might see a real Peruvian Hairless dog hanging around outside the Brüning Museum -- the metal and gold dogs inside the building are a different native breed, one now long extinct.