Recuay Style Costumed Figure with a Llama

A dignified figure is accompanied by a llama, the principal beast of burden in the ancient Andes. The man’s elaborate costume is depicted in vivid detail. He carries a rectangular shield, which suggests that he is a warrior. Clearly he is a person of high rank, perhaps one of the priest- kings who governed ancient Peru. The Llama that accompanies him may be intended as a gift for the person in whose tomb this sculpture was buried so long ago. Though boldly abstract in design, such a piece links us in an intimate way with distant human lives, exotic and yet familiar all at once.