Calima AD 600-1500
Colombia, South America
H17.0, W20.0, D6.0 cm
Ethno Am88 7-17.1
Gold had a profound symbolic significance in Amerindian beliefs. As an enduring and incorruptible substance that resists decay, gold alluded to the enduring spiritual knowledge of wise leaders and priests. Sixteenth-century Spanish chroniclers record their fascination with the profusion of gold jewellery worn by indigenous chiefs and priests. Legends told of a man who was covered in gold dust - El Dorado or 'the gilded one'. He was then said to bath in a lake during an annual ceremony in the course of which offerings of other magnificent gold objects were made. Gold face masks that have survived suggest that these tales may derive their inspiration from rites that did actually take place in different contexts and settings. Whether worn in life or accompanying the deceased into the afterlife, such gold objects came to embody deeply held beliefs about an invisible spirit world that exists parallel to and beyond the visible world of physical appearances. The Spanish conquistadores also valued gold but in a very different way, since they sought personal wealth and enrichment. The sight of sacred indigenous objects spurred their ruthless pursuit of the precious metal and much of the gold was forcibly obtained from their owners or looted from tomb and graves to be melted down and taken back to Spain to be used as coinage.
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