DI RECTOR'S
This publication was made possible through the
generosity of the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for
The Metropolitan Museum of Art established
cofounder of Reader's Digest.
by the
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
Spring 2002, Volume LIX,Number 4
(ISSN 0026-1521)
Copyright ? 2002 by The Metropolitan Museum
of Art. Published quarterly. Periodicals postage
paid at New York, N.Y., and Additional Mailing
Offices. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
is provided as a benefit to Museum members and
is available by subscription. Subscriptions $25.00
a year. Single copies $8.95. Four weeks' notice
required for change of address. POSTMASTER:Send
address changes to Membership Department, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue,
New York, N.Y. 10028-0198. Back issues available
on microfilm from University Microfilms, 300
N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106. Volumes
I-XXXVII(1905-42) available as clothbound
reprint set or as individual yearly volumes from
Ayer Company Publishers Inc., 50 Northwestern
Drive #10, Salem, N.H. 03079, or from the
Museum, Box 700, Middle Village, N.Y. 11379.
General Manager of Publications: John P. O'Neill
Editor in Chief of the Bulletin: Joan Holt
Editor of the Bulletin: Jennifer Bernstein
Production: Peter Antony
Design: Matsumoto Incorporated, N.Y.
Color photography by Juan Trujillo, of the Photograph
Studio of The Metropolitan Museum of Art .
Map on page 56 by Adam Hart, of the Design
Department of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The compass rose on the map includes the Aztec
symbol for gold.
On the cover: Figure Pendant, Colombia (Tairona),
10th-16th century; see page 27. Inside covers:
Detail of Crown, Peru (Lambayeque), 10th-12th
century; see page 13
NOTE
Gold-to the scientistit is a chemicalelementin the periodictable with the symbolAu
(fromaurum,the Latinname for the metal).For most of the rest of us it bringsto mind
thoughtsof sumptuousnessand wealth;of KingMidasof Phrygia,who wishedfor everything
he touchedto turnto gold (therewas a slightpitfall-all his food becameinedible);of the
majesticgoldenstags,panthers,and othertrappingsof the Scythiankings,buriedfor centuries
in the frozenwastesof Siberia;and, closerto home, of the fantastictreasuresof the Aztec
and Inkarulers,which fueleda gold rushthat broughtdown theirempiresand causedan
explosionof Europeanexpeditionsof conquestand exploration.Butgold is more than
a fabuloussourceof wealth;it is the mediumfor works of art of greatbeautyand superb
craftsmanship,in which the intrinsicvalueof the metalitself becomessecondaryto the
creation.This point is handsomelyillustratedin this Bulletindevotedto Precolumbiangold
objectsmade in Mexico, CentralAmerica,and SouthAmericabeforethe Spanishconquest.
Our holdingsof Precolumbiangold, the most synopticof any museum'sin the world,
were initiatedin 1886 with the purchaseof a pectoraldisk from Colombia.Sincethat time
the collectionhas grown primarilythroughthe gifts of three individuals:Alice K. Bache,
Nelson A. Rockefeller,andJan Mitchell.Alice Bachefirstdonatedworks from her wonderful
collectionof Precolumbiangold, her personalpassion, in 1966. Her gifts continueduntil
her death, and many more objectswere includedin her 1977 bequest.In 1978 and 1979
the Nelson Rockefellercollectionscameto the Metropolitanin accordancewith his pledge
of 1969. The Bachegifts and the MichaelC. RockefellerMemorialCollection(namedfor
the governor'sson) establishedthe Museum'sreputationin the field of ancientAmerican
gold. At the time of the openingof the MichaelC. RockefellerWing in 1982, the gold
treasurywas one of the much-admiredhighlightsof the new galleries.
The 1991 additionof the most significantpieces from the renownedcollection
of Jan Mitchellpropelledthe Metropolitan'sholdingsto theircurrentlyunrivaledposition.
CountrieswherePrecolumbianpiecesoriginatedhave largerand more comprehensive
collectionsof theirown nativeobjects,but we are able to presenta pictureof all indigenous
Americangold, from Peruin the south, wherethe metal was first worked, to Mexico in
the north,the sourceof the exotic formsthat dazzledsixteenth-centuryEurope.We are
furtherindebtedto Jan Mitchellfor his supportof the reinstallationof the treasury,which
openedto the publicin 1993 with a glitteringpresentationof more than 250 works. The
Jan MitchellTreasuryfor PrecolumbianWorksof Art was installedby JulieJones, curator
in chargeof the Departmentof the Arts of Africa,Oceania,and the Americas,and designed
by JeffreyL. Daly,chief designerfor the Metropolitan,workingwith Zack Zanolli, the
Museum'slightingdesigner.
The manycomplextechnicalissuespresentedby the studyof the Precolumbian
objectsin preparationfor this Bulletinwere ably dealtwith by conservatorsand scientistsin
the Museum'sShermanFairchildCenterfor ObjectsConservation,EllenHowe, LeslieGat,
and MarkWypyski.The text is by JulieJonesand Heidi King,seniorresearchassociatein the
Departmentof the Arts of Africa,Oceania,and the Americas.Together,they have created
a brief,informativehistoryof gold in the ancientAmericas,highlightingmany forms and
techniquesand the superbskillsof the region'sindigenouspeoplesbeforethe colonialera.
Philippe de Montebello, Director
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve, and extend access to
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin
®
www.jstor.org