Camelids were the largest and most important animals in ancient Peru, from the original domestication of llamas and alpacas that led to the settlement of the early civilisations. In Inca times, herders tended their flocks in the vast pastures that stretched throughout the empire. People looked to the skies for the Yacana (Llama) constellation, and on earth for camelid dung, used as fertiliser and for fuel. The animals were raised for food, for transport, for their wool, hides and bones, as well as for use in ceremonies. In the Inca capital, Cuzco, for example, a white llama was sacrificed every day. White was chosen for its beauty and purity, although camelids range in colour from cream to grey to black, with red and brown also common.

Conopas, small sculptures of llamas, alpacas and other camelids, were offerings ‘filled with a mixture of llama fat and blood and placed in pastures to [ensure] the fertility of the herd. Simple versions are still used in the Andes today’.¹ Carved from hard stone such as basalt or granite and painted red, the figures were also deposited in graves.² Surviving ritual vessels are common enough to allow a glimpse into the everyday lives of Peruvian people of the past: religious and fertility practices were usually based on presentations of precious food or objects to the gods, with rulers and priests as go-betweens. Liquids such as water, blood and chicha (corn beer) soaked into the earth to signify supernatural acceptance of the offering.

The form of the sculpture is based on its function: it was meant to remain on the earth and to hold its offerings, so did not need to appear to move. When alpacas and llamas lie down, their legs are concealed, so here the head, body and wool are emphasised. The heavy folds of neck and chest wool are so characteristic of the Suri alpaca that the carver simplifies them, repeating the square shape of the animal’s head and muzzle. Despite the obduracy of the polished stone, the creator manages to suggest the alpaca’s soft woolliness.

Christine Dixon

1. Craig Morris and Adriana von Hagen, The Inka Empire and its Andean origins, New York: Abbeville Press 1993, p. 172.

2. Analysis of the residue on the National Gallery of Australia’s conopa resulted in the identification of vermilion (mercuric sulphide) and natural ochres. Meg Absolon, Objects Conservator, National Gallery of Australia report, 6 September 2013.

Camelids were the largest and most important animals in ancient Peru, from the original domestication of llamas and alpacas that led to the settlement of the early civilisations. In Inca times, herders tended their flocks in the vast pastures that stretched throughout the empire. People looked to the skies for the Yacana (Llama) constellation, and on earth for camelid dung, used as fertiliser and for fuel. The animals were raised for food, for transport, for their wool, hides and bones, as well as for use in ceremonies. In the Inca capital, Cuzco, for example, a white llama was sacrificed every day. White was chosen for its beauty and purity, although camelids range in colour from cream to grey to black, with red and brown also common.

Conopas, small sculptures of llamas, alpacas and other camelids, were offerings ‘filled with a mixture of llama fat and blood and placed in pastures to [ensure] the fertility of the herd. Simple versions are still used in the Andes today’.¹ Carved from hard stone such as basalt or granite and painted red, the figures were also deposited in graves.² Surviving ritual vessels are common enough to allow a glimpse into the everyday lives of Peruvian people of the past: religious and fertility practices were usually based on presentations of precious food or objects to the gods, with rulers and priests as go-betweens. Liquids such as water, blood and chicha (corn beer) soaked into the earth to signify supernatural acceptance of the offering.

The form of the sculpture is based on its function: it was meant to remain on the earth and to hold its offerings, so did not need to appear to move. When alpacas and llamas lie down, their legs are concealed, so here the head, body and wool are emphasised. The heavy folds of neck and chest wool are so characteristic of the Suri alpaca that the carver simplifies them, repeating the square shape of the animal’s head and muzzle. Despite the obduracy of the polished stone, the creator manages to suggest the alpaca’s soft woolliness.

Christine Dixon

1. Craig Morris and Adriana von Hagen, The Inka Empire and its Andean origins, New York: Abbeville Press 1993, p. 172.

2. Analysis of the residue on the National Gallery of Australia’s conopa resulted in the identification of vermilion (mercuric sulphide) and natural ochres. Meg Absolon, Objects Conservator, National Gallery of Australia report, 6 September 2013.