A bottle with a snake-belted god and erotic pottery are among 100-plus artefacts in a rare collection of ancient gold that unpacks thousands of years of Peruvian history.
The Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru exhibit, opening at Sydney's Australian Museum on November 23, features the largest collection of Andean gold to ever leave the South American country.
"Australians have Machu Picchu right on the top of their bucket-list experiences," museum director Kim McKay said.
"We hear a lot about Machu Picchu and the Inca culture but Peruvian history is much greater than that."
Ancient Peruvian societies flourished for 3000 years, only rivalled by ancient Egypt in terms of longevity.
In mountainous terrain they developed complex irrigation and road systems and domesticated a wide range of crops including potatoes, peanuts and coca.
The Inca Empire fell in the 1570s after being conquered by the Spanish who brought devastating diseases such as smallpox.
The exhibit highlights the "secrets" of five ancient Peruvian empires.
Pieces on display, some of which are from a museum at the foot of Machu Picchu, will include gold treasure from royal tombs, jewels, intricate masks and objects of worship.
"The stories were told on their pottery, textiles and sculptures," Ms McKay said.
"There were very distinctive patterns in Peruvian culture."
Rivalling well-known handiwork of the Greeks, museum-goers can see "pretty breathtaking" erotic pottery.
"Having seen a lot of Greek pottery, this is even more clearly defined," Ms McKay said.
An ancient record keeping system, known as a quipu, which was used by societies across Peru but only understood by the specially trained, is also featured.
Many of the 134 objects, such as half-gold, half-silver metal vessels, highlight the importance of balance.
Some of the items were repatriated from Yale University to Peru and Indigenous communities were consulted about how best to tell their story.
Sydney is the fourth city after Boca Raton (USA), Paris (France) and Milan (Italy) to host the exhibit.
It has been set up by Peru's Museo Larco and Museo de Sito Manuel Chavez Ballon in conjunction with immersive experience company Neon Global.
Ms McKay hopes the popularity of the six-month exhibit could rival the museum's Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs, which sold more than 508,000 tickets.
There is also a virtual-reality tour of Machu Picchu filmed free of people during COVID-19 when visits to the world heritage site were suspended.
