Collections

Collection of Gold Objects

In Costa Rica, archaeological evidence indicates that the first metal objects appeared around 400-500 AD. The manufacture of metal objects reached its maximum development after the year 700 AD and lasted until contact with the Spanish.

The majority of the metal objects that have been recovered in Costa Rica come from the southern Pacific area. This is due to the existence of natural gold and copper deposits in this region.

Pre-Columbian artisans who lived in the area that is now Costa Rica worked the native alluvial gold. This was obtained from river silt and coastal shoreline sand and was washed in wood trays. The art of metalworking requires a particular skill, and a long and complicated apprenticeship, which leads to full-time specialists.

By hammering small fragments of gold, they made laminated pieces in the form of chest plates, bracelets, hair bands and discs, which were decorated with geometric designs, animal forms and representations of humans. The decorations were made with the repoussé technique, which consisted of pressing on the back part of the object with a dull instrument in order to create in relief the designs on the front.

Smelting with the lost-wax technique was the most used in the production of gold objects. The technique consisted of first modeling the desired object in beeswax. The design was covered with several layers of clay, forming in this way a sort of mould that was left to dry for a few days. This mould was heated so that the wax melted and drained off through a conduit that had been left for this purpose. Melting the wax in the inside of the mould left a hollow space in the form of the original design which was filled with the smelted metal. After the mould cooled, the mould was broken and the object cleaned, and the conduits where the metal had been poured in cut off, touched up and polished. In order to make castings, they also used mixtures of metal, especially gold and copper, known as “tumbaga.”

From gold they made objects such as hooks, needles, and punches. They also made symbols of rank in the form of personal adornments and offerings for the outfit of the deceased. Some objects were also made to be used in rituals by shamans or priests.

In the gold work are representations of fauna such as fish, crabs, turtles, armadillos, deer, jaguars, small lizards, lizards and frogs. These representations provide evidence of the importance of the natural surroundings in relation to the human being. In the same way, figures with compound forms (humans and animals) were elaborated, which symbolically represented very important people, such as shamans and priests.

Collection of Ceramic and Stone Objects

The collection of pre-Columbian objects made of ceramic and stone is made up of pieces that come from various geographic regions of the country, with an antiquity that dates from 300 BC until European contact in 1502 AD. 

Vessels of various forms as well as objects, statues and utensils in stone were used in the daily and ceremonial life of the communities that produced them.