The art of gold. The legacy of Pre-Hispanic Colombia

Over two-hundred and fifty extraordinary works of gold from the Gold Museum of Bogota.
Gold for the pre-Hispanic cultures of present-day Colombia held a deeply symbolic meaning. Its color and brilliance made it analogous with the Sun, golden disc, Father of gold and powerful symbol of fertility. Its physical and chemical properties allowed for the creation of different textures and a variety of color tones that became part of the political and ritual functions of the objects produced. Goldsmiths converted common metals into sacred shapes with profound cultural and artistic significance. They manufactured simple objects used by ordinary members of the community such as nose rings, earrings, breastplates, pendants and tools, as well as complex showy objects including body adornments, emblems of rank and power, votive figures reserved for important figures such as governors, shaman and venerable elders. As ritual objects, gold articles communicated mythical concepts regarding the universe, human beings, animals and fertility. Likewise, they brought to life the idea of transformation, a cornerstone of pre-Hispanic thinking, which revolved around the character of the shaman.
This richly-illustrated volume traces the legacy of gold in pre-Hispanic Colombia and features over 250 exceptional gold objects, supplemented by maps, diagrams and illustrations that put in context the pieces that make up this extraordinary collection from the Gold Museum of Bogota. The exceptional photographs are accompanied by brief descriptions of the cultures that created the objects, their customs, the territories they occupied, the techniques used and the symbolic value assigned to the different pieces. The reader will come to understand the fascination and folly awakened in the early Conquistadores by the El Dorado myth, and the importance of this past as part of the present identity of the Americas.