Pre-Colombian art in South America

The Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino in Santiago, Chile is a must-see to get a good sense of the traditions and art of South American and Andean cultures before the colonization period.

I love the expressions that are portrayed in the faces of the masks, figurines, and sculptures. 

Who, me?

He appears to be expressing
his displeasure

Such a relaxed
look on his face

Pitchers and pots in the shapes of revered animals were used by several of the pre-Colombian cultures. 

Pitcher in the shape of a cat.
The arch of the back and the straight tail
are portrayed perfectly.

Animal Pitchers: monkeys, and jaguars, and birds

Weapons are among my favorite things to see from any culture.

This club is the only
weapon I noticed.
I guess it was an art museum...

Some Andean cultures used a "lost wax" technique to make gold figures. The technique involved making a figure out of wax, then covering it with clay. As the clay baked and hardened the wax would melt, creating a mold to use with smelted gold. 

Golden lizards
created using the
lost wax method

There were quite a few references in the art to gods and goddesses dressing themselves in the flayed skin of men, women, and animals. (One of the gods, Xipe Totec, translates as Our Flayed Lord). The next two are wearing the skins of a monkey and...a bird? (I forget). 

From a distance, this handsome god
looked like Chi McBride to me

Bird skin?

Animals were not the only revered creatures. Pregnant figurines was a prominent theme among many of the cultures of the Andes. 

Mothers are still very important today

You may have noticed that several of the figures are seated. Seating was a gesture of authority and high status (for both the gods and the human leaders) throughout the cultures of South America. 

A chair fit for a god

Seated Coquero chewing
his coco leaves.

Unfortunately I wasn't allowed to photograph the fabric, which is incredible in Andean tradition. Weaving arrived before ceramics and even before village life in the Andes, and the fabric was used by religious leaders to share their iconography to the coast lines, as well as in funeral rites. Oh, and as blankets. It can get super cold.