I had an oh-so-pleasant surprise waiting in my inbox yesterday morning:
a news update about the imminent reopening of the Museo de Oro (trans.:
The Gold Museum) in Bogota, Columbia. The museum has been in existence
for nearly 70 years, and houses what is arguably the
world's largest and most important collection of gold pieces, including
statuary, vessels, ritual objects, and jewelry. For several years, the
museum has been undergoing renovations, so that they could exhibit more
than the tiny fraction of their collection (with numbers in the tens of
thousands of pieces).
On November 2, the museum will open the doors of its new facilities, allowing awestruck visitors to see a truly staggering collection of gold objects, displaying exquisite craftsmanship. Here's a taste, the most famous piece in the museum's collection, called the "El Dorado Raft."
The raft, only 19.5 cm in length, was found in 1969 in Pasca, south of Bogotá, and was quickly acquired by the museum — it has never left Colombia. Pre-Hispanic societies in the Americas showed a high degree of
social and economic organization, leading to the growth of specialist
craftsmen, including goldsmiths. Starting in Peru, metallurgy spread
through much of the Americas, and the work of Colombian craftsmen is
astonishing in its artistic invention and technical expertise. The El Dorado raft is testament to that expertise; it was cast in one piece using lost-wax casting in a clay mold, some time between 1200 and 1500.
Here's a link to the AP news report; CNN has some footage of more pieces from the collection, filmed without a voiceover. For more luscious photos and information, go to the Museum's Web site. Be sure to check out the link at the top tagged "Masterpieces" — that's where you'll find the goodies. The following pieces are some of my favorites:
Hammered nose ornament; A.D. 1250; 13.2 x 15.9 cm
Statue of a man wearing the mask of a bat and surrounded by spirals and figures of birds; 900–1600 A.D.; 10.6 x 11.3 cm
Gold bottle cap; 0–600 A.D.; 11 x 9.5 cm
Gold bracelet; 150–900 A.D.; 5.4 x 8 cm. Made of hammered gold sheets connected with tabs.
Cast gold cat, 350 A.D.; 7.5 x 12.2 cm.