Hello Sunday Readers,
Today I will talk a little bit about one of my favorite themes, jewellery
history.
It is very special to me because the theme is Pre-Columbian
Jewellery, and I’m Colombian.
One of the four most advanced civilizations of the
Americas apart from the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incans, was the Muisca civilization on
the Altiplano
Cundiboyacense in the Eastern
Ranges of
the Colombian Andes.
The Muisca (or Chibcha) civilization flourished in
ancient Colombia between 600 and 1600 CE. Their territory encompassed what is
now Bogotá and its environs, and they have gained lasting fame as the origin of
the El Dorado legend. The
Muisca have also left a significant artistic legacy with their superb gold work, and much of the excellence of this work has never been reached by any other Americas culture.
The most well-known piece of this
civilization is The Muisca Ralf, which is exhibited at the Gold Museum in Bogota. It is a lost-wax
casting in gold with a small amount of copper.
The Muisca Raft
It represents the ceremony of
investiture of the Muisca chief, which used to take place at Lake
Guatavita.
The raft was found by three farmers in
early 1969 in a cave in the village of Lázaro Fonte in the municipality
of Pasca (Cundinamarca), Colombia,
in a ceramic pot, adorned with a human figure whose face has sharp teeth.
Typical Muisca designs include spirals and other geometric,
inter-locking forms. Also produced were ceramics (including clay figures) and
carved semi-precious stones.
All this heritage full of meaning and unavailable richness has been passed down through generations and is part of the pride of being Colombian. And in a
miraculous way, it has come to my hands and imagination to help me transform materials into wonderful things!
Have a nice
Sunday!
Helena
References,
Muisca Raft,
Wikipedia
Ancient
History Encyclopedia
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