From Egypt to Peru: the Australian Museum’s next golden gamble

When the pandemic shut down Machu Picchu in Peru, it was a rare chance to film at one of the world’s greatest archeological sites without the thousands of tourists who swarm over it every day.

Drone footage from the time has been turned into a virtual reality experience that will feature in the Australian Museum’s next blockbuster exhibition, Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru, which opens next month.

Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru will feature more than 100 artefacts and a virtual reality tour.Credit: Australian Museum

After the success of Ramses & The Gold of the Pharaohs, the Sydney museum is hoping for similar interest in an exhibition that includes a priceless collection of ancient Peruvian artefacts and what has been called the most opulent collection of Andean gold to ever travel outside the South American country. The virtual reality experience will also take visitors on an aerial tour of Machu Picchu and tell the story of emperor Pachacuti.

The museum sold more than 500,000 tickets to the Ramses exhibition earlier this year, reputedly injecting more than $57 million into the NSW economy from local and tourist spending.

But is there as much interest in the culture that gave the world quinoa and llamas – and Paddington Bear, of course – as ancient Egypt?

“I think there is,” museum chief executive Kim McKay said. “We survey our audience and Peru comes up all the time as either number one or number two on people’s bucket list. It’s either ancient Egypt or Peru.

“We know people are very interested in Machu Picchu but what they’re really interested in knowing is the history. Most people think of the Inca culture, but that only lasted 300 years. They have civilisations dating back over 3000 years.”

McKay said the exhibition will have 134 artefacts including gold treasures from royal tombs, jewels, masks and objects of worship. Some of these objects had been repatriated to Peru after being taken by American explorer Hiram Bingham when he rediscovered the largely forgotten Machu Picchu in 1911.

“Peru comes up all the time as either number one or number two on people’s bucket lists”: Australian Museum’s director and CEO Kim McKayCredit: James Alcock / Australian Museum

Visitors will see gold and silver crowns, breastplates, bracelets and funerary objects that provide insights into Andean cosmology, as well as a rare object called a quipu. This is a cotton textile piece with a series of knotted strings that, in the absence of written language, allowed users to calculate and record transactions.

McKay said her personal favourite was the “really intricate” jewellery that combined gold, turquoise and shell. “Some people will like the erotic pots,” she added. “The Peruvians were never backward in coming forward about procreation, let’s say.”

Exhibitions like this are thriving, McKay said, because of what they offer tourists, families with children and culturally-minded adults.

A gold and turquoise nose ornament from the exhibition.Credit: Australian Museum 

“People predicted the end of the blockbuster. [But] I haven’t seen that in our experience. People are always looking for something new to do. Parents want to do things with their children that are fun and also educational – but it’s not education in the traditional sense. You’re experiencing another culture.”

The exhibition, which has previously run in Boca Raton in Florida, Paris and Milan, opens on November 23.

During its six-month run, the museum will hold Peruvian-themed events, including conversations, music, tours and food.

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