|
PERU TRAVEL PLANNER
| |
Arts and crafts
Surprisingly, perhaps, Inca masonry was very rarely carved or
adorned in any way. Smaller stone items, however, were frequently ornate and
beautiful. High technical standards were achieved, too, in pottery . Around
Cusco especially, the art of creating and glazing ceramics was highly developed.
They were not so advanced artistically, however; Inca designs generally lack
imagination and variety, tending to have been mass-produced from models evolved
by previous cultures. The most common pottery object was the aryballus, a large
jar with a conical base and a wide neck thought to have been used chiefly for
storing chicha. Its decoration was usually geometric, often associated with the
backbone of a fish; the central spine of the pattern was adorned with rows of
spikes radiating from either side. Fine plates were made with anthropomorphic
handles, and large numbers of cylindrically tapering goblets - keros - were
manufactured, though these were often of cedar wood rather than pottery.
The refinements in metallurgy , like the ceramics industry, were mostly
developed by craftsmen absorbed from different corners of the empire. The Chimu
were particularly respected by the Incas for their superb metalwork. Within the
empire, bronze and copper were used for axe-blades and tumi knives; gold and
silver were restricted to ritual use and for nobles. The Incas smelted their
metal ores in cylindrical terracotta and adobe furnaces which made good use of
prevailing breezes to fire large lumps of charcoal. Molten ores were pulled out
from the base of the furnace. Although the majority of surviving metal artefacts
- those you see in museums - have been made from beaten sheets, there were
plenty of cast or cut solid gold and silver pieces, too. Most of these were
melted down by the conquistadores, who weren't especially interested in precious
objects for their artistic merit.
Inca Trail travel
| |
Mon-Fri 9 Am - 6 Pm ET
please allow pop-ups
Published articles and reviews about us
2009
Testimonials
Ajay
Parikh
Date:
Thu,16 Jul 2009
Hello all the folks at Peru Gateway Travel,
We had a fantastic time in Peru. We thank you all for making
our trip a success.
The only concern is that the accommodation in Cusco was below
average and we would not recommend the Emparada Plaza (?) to
anyone. Even though the staff was good, the room/bathroom,
breakfast was very bad.
Once again, thanks a lot for making our trip to your country a
memorable one. All the guides, especially Guillarmo in Lima
and Erica in Cusco, were excellent.
Kazuaki Kubo
Date:
Thu,16 Jul 2009
I want to thank
you and all of the staff of Peru Gateway Travel for the perfect
arrangement of my trip in June.
Everything was so fantastic and I was made to think about another
trip to Peru.
Sincerely, Denise Pratico
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
I am writing to let you know that we
enjoyed Peru very much. The city tour led by Marco was fantastic. We
will be happy to recommend your agency to other Americans
Jane
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
We have
completed our trip to Peru and are now back in New York City.
I want to thank you for all the arrangements you made. The
trip was wonderful and all our accommodations excellent. Thank
you for making our trip a success.
Best regards, Marcy
Date:
Mon, 6 Jul 2009
We arrived home at 4 o'clock in the
morning, very tired (we had a long lay-over in Amsterdam) but very
very happy. I am so pleased to tell you that our Peru vacation that
you planned for us was excellent! Everything was just as the
itinerary said it would be. We were very pleased with the hotels,
and the transfer people and guides were always there and everybody
was so nice and knowledgeable. We learned a lot about your very
exciting country and its history, particularly about the Quechua
culture. We will always remember the Inti Raymi festival in Cusco. I
am so glad we were able to see that. Of course Machu Picchu was also
a great highlight. And, Michael and I also very much liked Arequipa.
We didn't know much about that city, but we had a very great time
there on our free day and visited the cathedral, spent a lot of time
going through the Santa Catalina monastario and, of course, went to
the museum to see "Juanita". Beautiful architecture there too.
Really, every day was wonderful, and we would like to thank you so
much for all your efforts. Also please extend our thanks to Maria
Carmen who was so helpful on the phone and to Julia, who came to the
hotel our first night to explain many things to us and give us all
our tickets and vouchers. And perhaps you also had something to do
with our last night in Lima at the Libertador. We got a suite -- a
very big beautiful room! Thank you so much.
We wish you and your family all the best, and for sure we will be
recommending Peru Gateway Travel to our friends.
Read More testimonials »
|
|
Peru Viajes
