Masters Students’ 2025 Exhibition. Piecing the Past: Nasca Pottery, Symbol, and Survival in Ancient Peru.

This years Masters Students exhibition, explores the rich visual culture and ceremonial life of the Nasca people through their intricately decorated ceramics. The exhibition delves into the iconographic language of Nasca pottery, highlighting recurring motifs such as mythical beings, animals, and plants that reflect complex cosmological beliefs, social identity, and ritual practice. Many vessels served not only as containers but as symbolic objects used in religious ceremonies and funerary rites, often buried with the dead. Their forms and painted imagery reveal a society deeply engaged with the spiritual world and the cycles of life and death.

A distinctive feature of the exhibition is its focus on the fragmentation and conservation of Nasca ceramics. Ancient vessels often bear drill holes, evidence of intentional reassembly using natural materials—possibly for ritual purposes or as part of funerary traditions. These ancient repair practices offer insight into how the Nasca valued and maintained the ritual power of objects. In parallel, modern conservation efforts are showcased, demonstrating how archaeologists and conservators work today to piece together these fragile remnants while preserving their cultural integrity. Together, these themes illuminate how Nasca pottery served as both sacred art and enduring symbol of survival.

SRU 2025 MA Students, from left to right: Shahba Rasheed, Tomi Olukosi, Hamsha Hussain, Séverine Toyon, Hope Noakes, Ifunanya Madufor, Umar Musa

Photo credit: Clementine Debrosse