El Dorado: Colombian Gold
Condition: SECONDHAND
This is a secondhand book. The jacket image is a photograph of the exact copy we have in stock. This image shows the condition of this book. Further condition remarks are below.
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
A richly illustrated art history and cultural reference work, El Dorado: Colombian Gold presents the legendary goldworking traditions of pre-Columbian Colombia through the lens of the extraordinary artifacts held in the Museo del Oro in Bogotá. The volume chronicles the sophisticated metallurgical techniques and spiritual symbolism employed by ancient Andean and lowland cultures, including the Muisca, Tairona, and Calima peoples, whose mastery of gold transformed the metal into a sacred medium of cosmic communication. Each artifact detailed within these pages illustrates how gold functioned not as currency or mere adornment, but as a living material imbued with divine power, connecting rulers, shamans, and deities in elaborate ritual ceremonies. Scholarly yet visually captivating, the work argues that the myth of El Dorado — the gilded man — was rooted in genuine ceremonial practices of breathtaking opulence, reshaping how readers understand one of history's most enduring legends.
Author: -
Format: Paperback
Published: 1978, Australian Art Exhibitions Corporation Limited
Genre: Anthropology
Condition remarks:
Book: Fair
Jacket: No dust jacket
Pages: Tanning and foxing
Markings: No markings
Condition remarks: Condition as shown in image
A richly illustrated art history and cultural reference work, El Dorado: Colombian Gold presents the legendary goldworking traditions of pre-Columbian Colombia through the lens of the extraordinary artifacts held in the Museo del Oro in Bogotá. The volume chronicles the sophisticated metallurgical techniques and spiritual symbolism employed by ancient Andean and lowland cultures, including the Muisca, Tairona, and Calima peoples, whose mastery of gold transformed the metal into a sacred medium of cosmic communication. Each artifact detailed within these pages illustrates how gold functioned not as currency or mere adornment, but as a living material imbued with divine power, connecting rulers, shamans, and deities in elaborate ritual ceremonies. Scholarly yet visually captivating, the work argues that the myth of El Dorado — the gilded man — was rooted in genuine ceremonial practices of breathtaking opulence, reshaping how readers understand one of history's most enduring legends.