Museo de Arte Precolombino Cusco

The Museo de Arte Precolombino, commonly known by its Spanish acronym MAP, is an art museum in Cusco, Peru, dedicated to the display of archaeological artifacts and pre-Columbian artworks drawn from all regions of pre-Columbian Peru. Located on Plazoleta de las Nazarenas in Cusco's San Blas district, the museum opened in June 2003 as an initiative of the Fundación BBVA Perú. Its permanent exhibitions feature approximately 450 representative artifacts selected from the broader collection of its parent institution, the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima. The museum occupies a building of exceptional historical depth, originally constructed as an Inca ceremonial courthouse more than five centuries ago, later rebuilt in colonial style, and eventually restored for its present cultural purpose.

The museum emerged from a partnership between the Fundación BBVA Perú and the Larco Museum of Lima. After extensive restoration of the historic building financed by the Fundación BBVA, the Museo de Arte Precolombino opened its doors in June 2003. The inauguration was attended by Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo, who declared that the institution would show the world Peru's cultural wealth and emphasized that Latin America must look to its past to construct a future with greater health, education, justice for the poor, and culture. The curatorial direction was entrusted to notable Peruvian art and history authorities Fernando de Szyszlo and Cecilia Bákula. The museum's establishment represented a significant effort to make pre-Columbian heritage accessible to the public through a carefully selected representative collection rather than through newly excavated materials.

The collection encompasses works spanning from 1250 BC to AD 1532, organized across ten thematic galleries: Formative, Nasca, Mochica, Huari, Chancay-Chimú, Inca, Wood, Jewelry and Stone, Silver, and Gold and Metals. The Formative Gallery presents pieces from multiple early cultures including Cupisnique, Salinar, Vicús, Virú, and Paracas in its older cavernas phase. This period witnessed remarkable advances in ceramic art, with naturalistic and symbolic representations enriched by sophisticated incised decoration, particularly in Cupisnique work. The Nasca gallery covers the period 200 BC to AD 600, while the Mochica gallery spans 100 to 700 AD, and the Huari gallery covers 700 to 1200 AD. The Chancay-Chimú gallery addresses cultures active between 900 and 1450 AD. The Inca gallery, positioned chronologically at the end of the sequence, presents ceramic objects including emblematic arybalos or monumental vessels bearing decorative elements that communicate organizational and symbolic messages. One particularly large arybalo is noted as unique to the collection. The material-specific galleries, Wood, Jewelry and Stone, Silver, and Gold and Metals, highlight the diverse media employed by pre-Columbian artisans.

The approximately 450 artifacts on permanent display are drawn from the internationally recognized collection of the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima. Among the signature pieces are the monumental Inca arybalos, large ceremonial vessels distinguished by their scale and symbolic decoration. One arybalo of particular size is identified as unique within the collection. The Formative period works include notable examples of Cupisnique incised ceramics demonstrating advanced technical accomplishment. The jewelry and metalwork holdings encompass pre-Columbian gold, silver, shell, bone, and stone ornaments, representing the full range of materials that acquired religious, political, and cultural significance across Peruvian civilizations. The collection's strength lies in its representative breadth rather than in any single monumental work, offering a systematic overview of Peruvian pre-Columbian artistic achievement across three millennia.

The museum building embodies multiple layers of Peruvian history. Its origins lie in an Inca ceremonial courthouse constructed over 500 years ago, believed by experts to have functioned as a yachaywasi or school where children of the Inca nobility received their education. Remnants of this original construction are still visible in the house's hall. Following the Spanish conquest, the site was allocated in 1534 to the conquistador Don Alonso Díaz. In 1558, the structure was converted into the Monastery of Santa Clara for young orphaned women. By 1580, it had been rebuilt in colonial style as the residence of an elite member of Cusco society, subsequently becoming known as Casa Cabrera after it passed to Gerónimo Luis de Cabrera de la Cerda in the seventeenth century. The 1650 earthquake diminished its value, and it passed through numerous hands and functions, eventually serving as a school from 1906 for 75 years. In 1981, Banco Continental acquired the property, restored it, and transformed it into a cultural center. The final restoration by Fundación BBVA prepared it for its current museum function.

The Museo de Arte Precolombino is situated on Plazoleta de las Nazarenas in Cusco's San Blas district, a location within the historic center of the former Inca capital. The museum is owned by the Larco Museum in Lima, which provides the artifacts for display. Its permanent exhibitions are housed in the restored Casa Cabrera, now equipped with an auditorium seating 120 people that hosts lectures and local events. The museum operates as a cultural and educational institution with an inclusive mission, contributing to public understanding of Peru's pre-Columbian heritage through accessible presentation of works drawn from one of the country's foremost archaeological collections. Information for visitors is available through the museum's official website at mapcusco.pe.