PRE-COLUMBIAN ART
Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers! We’re still in Santiago so no turkey for us this year, but we’ve had an absolutely marvelous time these past four weeks.
Yesterday we toured the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino or the Museum of Pre-Columbian Art. It’s in an historic building that was damaged by the 2010 earthquake. It took five years of restoration and refurbishment before it re-opened to the public. Exhibits on the second or main floor cover examples of ceramics, sculpture, and textiles from different ethnic groups from the greater Latin America area including Ecuador and Peru.
I found the separate textile gallery especially noteworthy—the level of detail in some of the patterns and the intricacy of the weaving were amazing. No photos here, alas. Fortunately, the exhibit labels were in English as well as Spanish throughout the museum.
We then descended several staircases to the lower level exhibit focusing exclusively on Pre-Columbian art from Chile. And what an experience this was! The space has black walls and is minimally lit with cases displaying ceramics, fabrics and sculpture. What was most striking were the lifesize carved wooden male and female figures. They were made by the Mapuche people and put on top of tombs to pave their journey to the afterlife.
We relaxed in the afternoon, took another walk to the local park, and then had an early dinner at Gracia, a tapas restaurant several blocks away. The tapas weren’t the equal of Barcelona or Coqueta in San Francisco, but fit the bill. The Serrano ham was the highlight.
Today we wind up our trip and return to the States. The Chileans have been most welcoming, and we feel as if we made a few friends along the way. Hasta la vista!
Note: All photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is an example of street art next to a bit of graffiti in downtown Santiago.
