Amano museum -Passion for prehispanic Peruvian art
Introduction
Yoshitaro Amano was a Japanese
businessman who by 1930 had built his business fortune in South America, losing
as a result of World War II because he was deported to Japan. After the war, he
returned to America to rebuild its companies and was established in Peru by
1951.
For Peru, Yoshitaro Amano is a
memorable character because he devoted his fortune and time to locate and protect
the cultural heritage of Peru from destruction and looting. Amano, like Maria
Reiche and others realized the immense value of the pre-Hispanic heritage,
assumed the task of preserving it for future generations. Without Maria Reiche Nazca lines today would quarries
or human settlements, without Amano beautiful textiles that are displayed in
the museum have been destroyed as a fuel or waste. They went ahead to
ignorance, apathy and disinterest of Peruvians past.
For ordinary people the pre-Hispanic
textiles were worthless, used them as firewood, or practiced target shooting
with vessels considered worthless; Amano collected and retain a magnificent set of works (his collection has
20 000-or whole pieces' museables'- and 20,000 valuable fragments for
archaeologists and historians).
Mario Amano, son and successor of
its task, tells a story of the origin of the museum in 1961, that began
building his father:
"He collected but also digging. One day I was
stuck in a ditch, digging, and passed Mr. Graña, owner of the nearby estate
Huando, who, seeing him so interested in his work, invited him to visit a
nearby farm where there were 'huacas'. Before they stopped to eat where Mr.
Ishiki, a Japanese who ran a restaurant. They talked and to learn the passion of
my father, and seeing him so interested in it, over lunch, he said, 'Follow
me,' and showed him the thousands of pieces of ceramics and textiles that were
in his house ... and the gift. So this museum was started ". http://www.museoamano.org/amano/
A stroke of luck for the Yoshitaro
Amano, a windfall for Peru because that fortune fell to the right person. The
destination can do their master moves.
Yoshitaro Amano discovered and
rescued textiles from the Chancay culture, and to prevent its disintegration by
the time he applied careful conservation techniques. Before finally living in Peru, by 1929 had visited Machu Picchu,
perhaps therein lies the source of his fascination with the pre-Hispanic past.
Between 50 and 60 he made his
fortune in the field of fisheries, and as cultured and well-educated person,
also devoted his time to archeology, which allowed him to recognize the value
of the Chancay
culture whose wealth was at its maximum textiles and ceramics.
In his many travels around the
country, Mr. Amano noted abandoned by grave robbers objects and could recognize
its value and importance, which led him to devote much of his time and fortune
to recover and preserve the abandoned objects in the coastal deserts for
display at his home in Miraflores.
Yoshitaro collection was already
important, but also had demanded rigor dimension, research and professionalism.
He bought the land adjacent to his house and in 1961 began construction of the
museum.
In 1964, he founded the Museo Amano, one of the first buildings designed
in Peru to serve as a museum. This museum was recognized as one of the most
important areas of the Peruvian textile art exhibition and a bridge of
cooperation between Japanese and Peruvian researchers.
Amano Yoshitaro died in 1982, but
his memory remains and the view of the magnificent work that rescued renewed in
amazement that cause visitors. Amano was not born in Peru, but with Maria
Reich and other foreigners who loved our country, is an envoy for lady luck, so
"worth a Peru".
Fifty years later, the family
remodeled the museum Amano to maintain the tradition of service and research of
its founder. Now it called Amano, TEXTILE MUSEUM PRECOLOMBINO and shows
wonderful works of pre-Columbian textiles pipelining, under optimal exposure.
There were moments of economic
crisis, and although in 2010 the family had to sell the house Yoshitaro to
prevent the closure of the museum, today thanks to support private and public
institutions in Japan, and professional collaboration of Peruvians, the Museum
has been renovated and exposure continues. Hopefully for much longer.
The Museum - Exhibition
The Amano museum houses the most
important collection of textiles in the country. For the permanent exhibition
it has four exhibition rooms divided into three concepts:
a) TEXTILE CHRONOLOGICAL SEQUENCE:
Tour of the home textiles in the
world, the first commodity and its history in the Peruvian territory. Here the
textile history of the Chavin, Paracas, Nasca, Mochica, Huari, Sihuas,
Lambayeque, Chimu, Chancay and Inca cultures Chuquibamba runs.
These two items are a sample of
expertise, and safety are worthy of a princess.
b) LIVING TEXTILES COMMODITIES AND
TOOLS:
Exhibition of all textile process necessary
to create stunning textiles shown in the museum, from the selection of raw materials, dyeing,
spinning and selection of suitable looms. Examples of the textile master
reached and the various uses to which the fibers are also shown.
c) Amano Yoshitaro ROOM:
Store and storage room that allows
privileged access to some of the stores of the museum, where they have placed
the classic drawers showing the textile development achieved by the Chancay
culture. The room has beautiful examples of various textile structures and
techniques mastered by the company of skilled textile workers and potters who
lived more than 900 years ago.
Location: Retiro Street 160,
Miraflores. Information: 441-2909 and 442-1007.
museo@fundacionmuseoamano.org.pe.
References
Museo
Amano: Hilando el pasado
Museo
Amano
Museo
Amano
