Between 600 and 1000, long before the Inca, the Wari forged a complex society widely regarded today as ancient Peru's first empire. Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes, the first exhibition of its kind in North America, opens up this exciting yet virtually unknown episode in ancient American history through more than 100 startlingly beautiful art works in all major Wari media: masterful ceramics; precious ornaments made of inlays or gold and silver; sculpture; and sumptuous garments from one of the world's most distinguished textile traditions.

Wari: Lords of the Ancient Andes is organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it opens on October 28, 2012. The exhibition will travel to the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale in Florida and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.