Exhibition themes Chimú

The Kingdom of Chimor was ruled by Chimú lords and priests from the religious centre of Chan Chan in the Moche Valley. Chan Chan had a  population of 40,000 and covered more than 20 square kilometres. The Chimú were at first dependent on canal irrigation but after another catastrophic El Niño, Chimor become a state based on conquest and tribute. Dominating the north coast of Peru after the fall of the Moche Empire, military expansion stretched across more than 1,300 km. Its centralised systems of irrigation, road building, manufacture of artefacts, storage and exchange were adopted by the Inca Empire, which conquered the Chimú by 1470.

Taycanamu was the mythical founder hero, while other deities included the god of the sea and the goddess of the moon. Artisans made extraordinary wooden, feather and metal objects, emphasising silver as much as, or even more than, gold. Chimú textiles are renowned for technical and aesthetic excellence. They have complicated interwoven motifs, stepped arrangements and geometric patterns, and most commonly depict jaguars, birds and marine subjects.