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

Since 1939 the Gold Museum managed by the Banco de la República has classified, researched and exhibited over fifty thousand Colombian pre-hispanic objects. This book contains more than two hundred photographs of the most important pieces in the collection. The photographs taken especially for this book by Juan Mayr - a photographer, environmentalist and expert on pre-hispanic and indigenous societies - are in themselves works of art. The book also includes short texts on the pre-hispanic societies that created the objects - their thought, the areas they inhabited, the artistic techniques they used and the symbolic value they attributed to them - as well as photographs of the landscapes, maps and illustrations to contextualize this extraordinary and unique collection. Explanations are given as to why the first Conquistadors were so enthralled by the legend of El Dorado and to why the ancient cultures of the pre-hispanic societies in South America are so mportant to the identity of their modern counterparts. Our aim is that the person who has this book in his hands feels as if he takes with him the Gold Museum.Texts: Clara Isabel Botero, Roberto Lleras Pérez, Santiago Londono and Efrain Sanchez Cabra.