RuneQuest inspiration from the British Museum's Peru exhibition

[David Scott]

A ceremonial beaker for drinking fermented maize featuring Hon-eel

(Moche, AD 100-800)

[David Scott]

Earth Witch ceremonial drum (it's nearly 6' tall!) 

(Ceremonial drum with painted mythical scenes
This striking drum features one of the principal scenes of the Nasca worldview. It represents the capture of defeated enemies in ritual combat, firmly grasped by the hair by ancestral beings, who are identified by their feline mouth masks. It also includes a group of five ancestral deities with animal features. Towards the top, three images hanging from snake-like cacti depict the main elements of the narrative: a corpse-like human hanging from a branch, a severed head on a rope and a human transformed into an ancestor. Nasca 100BC-650AD)

[David Scott]

Orca hsunchen jug

(Human killer whale
Some of the images depicted in the desert landscapes were also represented in ceramic, such as this whale with sharp teeth and large fins. Sea creatures reflect
the value of abundant marine resources from the Pacific Ocean. This whale has human characteristics, carrying human heads and with a knife in his hand, as if
returning victorious from ritual battle. Nazca)

[David Scott]

Minor Coastal temple to Choralinthor, note the votive images lining the edges of the temple. Magasta and Ernalda sit behind, while images of Golod and his children cover the walls. and the temple is open to the sky. The three figures of Dormal, Diros and Pelaskos sit in front of Magasta, while Sednadimos, Esrola, and Brastalos sit in front of Ernalda.

(Model of a palace complex in Chan Chan. This Chimu model recreates the space inside a ceremonial palace in Chan Chan. It shows wooden
figures representing musicians, officials preparing chicha, offerings (chests and probably architectural models like this one) and representations of two funerary bundles. In real life, funerary bundles were taken out of the palace and into the city as part of a pilgrimage to represent the living ancestors taking care of society, and to show they remained alive in the collective consciousness. The figures displayed in the model hold offerings and musical instruments. Wood, resin, bone, semi-precious stones and clay, Chimu, 1440-1665)

 

[David Scott]

Wachaza riding his sea demon boat (jug found amongst the wolf pirates)

(Prisoners being taken for sacrifice This boat is in the shape of a demon fish. It shows a scene in which the deity Ai-Apaec, with feline fangs and snake belt, navigates a boat taking naked prisoners to an island for sacrifice to restore order to the world. The scene includes sea wolves, or South American sea lions, whichhave lived along the Andean coast for thousands of years.)

 

[David Scott]

Pralora as a ceremonial vessel

(White-tailed deer had a special significance among Andean societies and were a part of their mythology, as creatures able to transform into hybrid humans. In the upper
coastal valleys, people carried out ritual deer hunts, in order to extract their blood as well as small bezoar stones (hard lumps built up around undigested material) from their stomachs. These were believed to have magical and healing properties and are still used in traditional medicine today.)

 

[Nick Brooke]

Not from that exhibition, but anyway: here's a Peruvian llama effigy in silver and copper, with a rather nice fox head-dress ornament behind. They were on display at the Sainsbury Centre, on the University of East Anglia campus, five or so years back.

[Agentorange]

I don't know, there's something about the eyes of that deer I don't like. To me it suggest a broo shaman with no visible chaos features....but on the inside....

[Shiningbrow]

On 2/17/2022 at 3:01 PM, Agentorange said:

I don't know, there's something about the eyes of that deer I don't like. To me it suggest a broo shaman with no visible chaos features....but on the inside....

That round handle looking thing is,a pretty obvious physical Chaotic Feature... Additional limb.