who knows about pre-columbian gold??

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jun 5, 2007, 14:38:

As far as I know most pre-columbian gold jewelry was made of "tumbaga"; that being basically copper with a thin gold plating.

The problem with selling Pre-Colombian jewelry (replicas) is that it commands a rather high price.

Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

Tinto (Moderator) says on Jun 5, 2007, 14:53:

Out of curiosity, how far back do the type of things one sees in the Gold Museum go? Are they the oldest in the Americas? What about when compared to other ancient cultures, say the Middle East?

oldbongo says on Jun 5, 2007, 16:14:

well, most of it was made with tumbaga...it is much cheaper..
tumbaga is an alloy of copper and gold,about 70/30.
the surface was treated by depletion gilding to give surface prominence to the gold content.
the problem with this material is that over a long period of time, the copper oxidizes and leaves the object with corrosion problems.

the problem with selling replicas is not that the sellers atttempt to command a high price, it's that they are worthless fakes, and only serve to confuse and discredit genuine object collectors.

of the objects in the gold museum, the oldest are peruvian, and the best is colombian.
the ancient world of the middle east and egypt had mastered goldsmithing long before the first americans gave it a try around 1000 b.c.

it's the real stuff that actually does have value

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 01:42:

Aren't the original pieces part of the cultural patrimony of Colombia? I was under the impression that it was illegal to take them out of the country.

Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 02:03:

yep the original pieces are in the gold museum like the poporopo.

the one you find in shops are replicas, buit it's true that gold plate material doesn't last long as it soon as it goes it looks awful


BTW maybe in Spain you will find most of our pre-columbian gold jiji

I love the gold from mompox, it is shinier that the other golds, but somebody told me it is not as expensive and the quality as good. but it's very yellow looks like fake but it's not.

engage brain before opening mouth

markiev says on Jun 6, 2007, 02:46:

La laguna de guatavita Just head up to la laguna de guatavita, which is about an hour outside of Bogota and go to the site where it("el dorado") all started....Just drain the lake and you will have all the pre-columbian gold you'll ever need!!!!!!!!

Desideria (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 03:05:

But just try to take it out of Colombia to sell it to somebody's private collection at astronomical prices...hell, I'd alert the Customs myself! That gold belongs to Colombian museums and nowhere else. Otherwise, it's fine there, at the bottom of the lake.

Cheers,
Desi

"None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe
they are free." —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 05:33:

you are most likely to find the pre-colombian gold in Spain than in the guatavita lake.

engage brain before opening mouth

kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 05:39:

guatavita lake


not gold there

engage brain before opening mouth

kat1 (Moderator) says on Jun 6, 2007, 05:49:

"Lake Guatavita was one of the sacred lakes of the Muiscas, where they celebrated a ceremony in which the chief (The Zipa) was covered in gold before bathing in its waters" Wikipidea.


all those stories about lots of gold there and the golden city that sometimes can be seen was just a mith.

what I know was that part of this story was invented by the Indians on the south to keep the conquistadores away, they were doing some terribles thing to the indians in search of the gold, so they decided to invent the story of the golden city so they would leave their land and go somewhere else.

engage brain before opening mouth

webmanco says on Jun 6, 2007, 09:59:

Ask El Jefe Popón de Ubaque
Banco de la República





El nombre provoca sonrisas, pero el jeque Popón de Ubaque fue un verdadero jeque o sacerdote muisca que existió en el siglo XVI y que, según él mismo decía, predijo la llegada de los conquistadores españoles a las tierras del Zipa gracias a que voló por los aires y pudo verlos desembarcando en las costas de Santa Marta. Eso sí, "nada le daba más temor que ver la luna tan grande, que parecía cinco veces mayor que desde la tierra, cuando levantado en el aire se acercaba más a ella", según narra el cronista fray Pedro Simón.

A través de este personaje el Museo del Oro del Banco de la República inaugura una actividad permanente dirigida a los escolares y a las familias que quieran disfrutar de los magníficos objetos prehispánicos expuestos en las vitrinas. La Sala interactiva Gas Natural Chevron El Jeque Popón de Ubaque puede describirse como un video interactivo o una producción inmersiva de multimedios donde interactúan entre sí y con el Jeque 75 personas. En el ambiente de un bosque mágico la voz del Jeque va haciendo aparecer imágenes de los objetos de orfebrería prehispánica de todo el país y los explica, los compara y los transforma para aclarar su significado

But, I'm going to start making some assumptions here.... Which means I might actually end up making an ass out of myself ..........Thu 04 17, 2008 11:34 am

jinksmiester says on Jun 6, 2007, 14:59:

Gee bongo...i thought you were talking about that other colombian gold we used to put in our pipes and smoke...my mistake...but hey that was pretty good stuff too..lol

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

oldbongo says on Jun 6, 2007, 16:21:

whadda you mean?... used to.

markiev says on Jun 7, 2007, 01:18:

Hey Kat1, that's a nice foto of the lake...My wife's friends have a finca near the town of guatavita and we found some locals willing to rent us some horses and took a horseback ride up to and back from the lake..I was there about 1.5 years ago loved it....The story of the lake is very interesting

oldbongo says on Jun 7, 2007, 10:28:

funny... oldbongo heard that this lake was full of golden trout.
wonderful to catch and look at, but bad to eat.