Page 638 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

MUISCA Most of the tunjos have a triangular or elon- gold work. The votive function of the tunjos

The Muiscas, the last of the pre-Hispanic gated form and were thus intended to be set made the undisguised presence of copper in the
inhabitants of the central Colombian high pla- directly on the floor or placed within the elon- images acceptable. Most of the Muisca pieces
teau, created hundreds of works in gold and gated ceramic vessels (London 1986; Plazas 1987). are lat and have no core. They were cast by the
f
copper, the earliest of which date from the The offerings were made through the chiefs lost-wax process in individual molds, a means
seventh century A.D., according to numerous or priests, who functioned as mediators of production that was a consequence of the
carbon 14 tests of clay and carbon core mate- between those making the offerings and the evident popular demand (Plazas 1975).
rials (Falchetti 1989). gods. When examined carefully, the tunjos The tunjos are a curious expression of man's
In Muisca society many works in gold were appear to represent, within certain specified need to communicate. There is a tacit vocabu-
intimately linked to religious practices. Most of conventions, a sort of language for requesting lary of bodily adornment to which much pre-
the pieces found on the plateau are objects of a divine assistance or giving thanks for such aid. Hispanic gold work belongs- the tunjos,
type known as tunjos. These were not items of The recognizable types include warriors, mas- however, represent a different sort of language,
jewelry but rather offerings to the gods, created culine figures in attire that probably identifies one that is explicit and immediate. On the
to be hidden away in sacred places. Most tunjos their rank, women holding their children or the whole, the images follow an original and very
do not represent deities but rather the animals, objects associated with chewing coca, miniature specific aesthetic formula. The figures' large
people, and artifacts of the everyday world. versions of their various adornments, scenes of heads contrast with their minute extremities
They are often depicted with absolute accuracy. political and social life, and animals of religious and belongings. The marked changes in scale
The groups of votive objects that have been significance such as condors, serpents, and that often differentiate participants in the same
discovered consist of cast figurines, ranging in jaguars. The specific type of figure was evi- scene and the exaggeration of some of the fig-
number from five to thirty. These votive objects dently connected with the benefit being ures' physical characteristics go beyond a
were generally deposited in ceramic vessels that requested from the gods. merely descriptive function to express the
have been found concealed under stone slabs in Soon after production these objects were deeper spiritual meaning of the offering. Even
open areas not associated with dwellings or deposited in the place of offering and for this though the figures often seem naive and dis-
burial places. They have also been found in reason were not given the surface gilding proportionate, they achieve their objective very
caves or in settings of great natural beauty. common in other pre-Hispanic traditions of effectively.

543
CACIQUE ON A LITTER

Muisca
cast gold
8.3X22.6(^/4X87/)
8
Museo del Oro, Banco de la Republica, Bogota

The importance of the chief represented in this
piece can be measured by his size and his complex
headdress. This piece was found in a cave near
Pasca (Cundinamarca), fifty kilometers (thirty-
one miles) south of Bogota, along with the
famous Muisca raft that represents the ceremony
of El Dorado. C.P.

THE AMERICAS 637