The Golden Splendor of Ancient Colombia on display in Houston

From November 6, 2022 through April 16, 2023, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents the exhibition “Golden Worlds: The Portable Universe of Indigenous Colombia.“

Source: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston · Image: Calima, Colombia, Pectoral with Face, 200 BC–1300 AD, gold, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, gift of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr.

The exhibition includes some 400 works of art that showcase the diversity and artistic value of the cultures of indigenous Colombia. “Golden Worlds: The Portable Universe of Indigenous Colombia” has been organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in collaboration with the Museo del Oro del Banco de la Republica in Bogota and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), which previously presented the exhibition under the title “The Portable Universe: Thought and Splendor of Indigenous Colombia” from March 29 to October 2 of this year.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston explains that the exhibition “reframes how we approach ancient Colombian art and invites visitors into a cultural dialogue that spans both space and time. With the European conquest, Indigenous cultures and knowledge, based on millennia of intellectual efforts, were largely cast aside. By drawing heavily on the involvement of contemporary Indigenous collaborators, ‘Golden Worlds: The Portable Universe of Indigenous Colombia’ infuses these stunning works with life, meaning, and relevance for today and the future.”

The exhibition is organized into different thematic sections. “Splendor and Significance of Colombian Indigenous Gold” highlights the work in gold produced by Colombian cultures over more than 1,000 years. “Our House, Our World, Our Cosmos” presents the house as a “metaphor for humanity’s place in the world,” while “Rethinking History” focuses on the loss of knowledge and information after the arrival of settlers. “People of Ancient Colombia” presents the diverse societies that existed at the time, including representations in masks and figures. The final section of the exhibition, “Gold for the Gods,” is “an intimate look at the small gold figures created by Indigenous artists for the gods.“

“We are pleased to have co-organized this exhibition with our colleagues in Los Angeles and Bogotá, to look anew at these finely wrought gold objects and their timeless messages about the relationship between man and nature,” stated Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.