The Central and South American Galleries

THIS issue of the Bulletin will coincide with the complete reinstallation of the galleries devoted to South and Central American Archaeology, the lower section of the Fitler Pavilion having just been renovated and rearranged to accommodate chiefly the Museum’s outstanding collections of Maya Pottery and South American Gold. It seems proper at this time to mention the latter group, since they can well be considered among the greatest treasures in the whole scope of the Museum’s collections. They fall into several groups, according to the various countries in which they were collected. The most extensive is doubtless that from Colombia, containing astonishingly decorative and well-wrought breast plates as the outstanding pieces, supplemented by a large number of smaller ornaments and jewelry exquisitely fashioned and attractive for the handling of the conventionalized animal forms.

Smaller in number and quite different in character is the group of gold ornaments from Ecuador; two of the more striking pieces are illustrated on Plates XII and XIII. While one is at first chiefly impressed by the barbaric splendour of such examples, yet the actual workmanship is not careless and the artistic elements are found to be carefully developed and composed.

The large Chima beakers in gold and silver and the small gold cups are the chief objects in the Peruvian Treasure, while from Nicaragua and Costa Rica other groups of important decorative ornaments are on exhibition. It may be safely stated that in this gallery it is possible to see one of the few important collections of early South American work in precious metals anywhere to be found.