Chimù Statuette

Tintin and The Broken Ear

On his way to join an expedition bound for Easter Island, museum curator Henri Lavachery passed through Lima in July 1934. He visited pre-Columbian sites and purchased some artefacts, among them this statuette. Exhibited at the museum for the first time in 1935, it intrigued a famous visitor, the author Hergé, who worked it into one of the 'Adventures of Tintin' : The Broken Ear.

A litter carrier

But the original object - which has a broken foot, not an ear - was sculpted by the Chimù rather than by Hergé's hypothetical Arumbayas. Dated between the 13th and 15th centuries CE, it represents a litter carrier. Excavations carried out at the Hueca de la Luna, near Moche, uncovered wooden 'models' illustrating various ceremonies. For a burial, similar statuettes bore the litter where the deceased lay, while others brought various offerings.