The museum was founded by diplomat and avid hunter Miguel Mujica Gallo [es] in the 1960s in order to display his lifelong private collection of pre-Incan gold pieces and arms of the world, owning it until 1993.

Originally known as the Pabellón de Caza,[2][3] the work of architect Luis Risso Arguedas and gastronomic businessman Arturo Rubio, it was one of the most popular of its time.

The original gate was designed by Rubio and Javier Ferrand, and was reinforced after a terrorist attack destroyed it.

[2] In 2002, the museum was the subject of controversy, as a four-month study carried out by the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru led to an investigation by the Consumer Defence Institute, the Peruvian government's intellectual property organisation, declared 4,257 artefacts in the museum as fakes, with an additional 92 put into question.

[1] Peruvian congressman Luis Iberico suggested that a mafia could've taken advantage of Mujica's deteriorating eyesight, replacing legitimate items with imitations.