The Calima Culture was a succession of overlapping societies that settled along the Calima River in Western Colombia around 1500 BC. Over time, agricultural chiefdoms gave rise to more centralized governance and the role of shamanism and ritual grew with the expansion of a ruling class.

The height of Calima culture (200 BC – 700 AD) saw the production of much of the amazing gold and terra-cotta objects that survive today. Often taking the form of ‘spouted’ or ‘stirrup’ vessels, their anthropomorphic and zoomorphic subjects likely emerged from the use of hallucinogenic substances during ceremony.

Among Pre-Columbian ceramics, Calima terra-cotta works are quite distinct. They take whimsical form as living creatures morph into bottles, bowls and urns. Their rich burnished surfaces are often incised with lively geometric designs and the use of red and white finishes creates contrast and focal points. As a whole they are iconic, even as each piece finds a unique character.

In the mountainous Chucu region of southern Peru, miles of huge boulder fields form innumerable caves and passages. Starting early in the 19th Century, people exploring the area began finding painted ceramic plaques and stone slabs cached there between 700 – 1200 AD.

These amazing millennia old paintings were made with vivid mineral pigments in yellow, red, white, pale green and glittering grey tones. Many display well known Nasca and Huari geometric motifs in various combinations, while some depict stylized humans and animals. Further, the artists that made them seem to consider and incorporate their irregular shapes, using the contours and proportions as key elements in their individual compositions.

Although the ancient paintings from Chucu clearly relate to Pre-Columbian textiles in design and color, their weight and materiality differentiate them, giving each a unique and dramatic sculptural quality.

Perhaps the most striking aspect of mortars is their tactility. It’s difficult to fully appreciate the extent of their formal nuance until they are handled. Only then does one understand how the shape or placement of appendages actually affect its use.

If good design is a marriage of form and function, then the ancient mortars made by the Inca, Chavin, Chorrera-Valdivia and Alamito Cultures certainly represent the height of early design in the Americas.

The first masks likely evolved from face painting in the Neolithic period. Since then, various types of masks have been used in nearly every part of the world. Masks are worn for protection, disguise, performance, ritual and in burial practices. Others are not worn, but represent the faces of gods, saints or ancestors; sacred embodiments to be revered or worshiped.

In the Americas, Pre-Columbian cultures made masks using cloth, wood, stone, ceramic and soft metals. They are marvelously diverse, with unique expressions and personalities ranging from the anatomically accurate to the highly stylized. Across cultures ancient masks provide a glimpse into how early people saw themselves and how their perceptions and depictions of the human face changed dramatically over time and distance.

The humans that inhabited Central and South America before the arrival of Europeans were keen observers. Like us, they  marveled at the detail and diversity of life in their surroundings. How do we know this? Because their weavings, stone work, metal work and ceramics all come to life with intricate representations of the natural (and supernatural) world. The resources of their environs formed the foundation of their artistic and spiritual traditions and the flora and fauna around them were common motifs in their cultural production. One of the most ubiquitous motifs seen across cultures is birds.

Depending on the geography of the culture, we find in Pre-Columbian art numerous depictions of owls, eagles, condor, parrots, macaw, hummingbirds and various seabirds to name a few. Many were admired for their vivid color, others for their soaring connection to the sky and still others for hunting prowess, agility, cleverness or sheer beauty. Representations of birds range from the highly detailed to the abstract. In the depiction of deities and supernatural spirits, anthropomorphized avian features such as wings, feathers, beaks, and talons abound.

In addition to birds as a design motif, actual feathers were highly prized as a luxurious and sacred material. Akin to precious metals, they traded widely across cultures as a significant commodity. They were carefully woven into textiles to create vibrant ceremonial garments, votive offerings and decorative panels, some of which have survived in surprisingly good condition into modernity.

The Tiahuanaco Culture flourished in the Bolivian Altiplano south of Lake Titicaca for over a millennia. At the height of the empire, from 300 BC – 300 AD, the capital city of Tiahuanaco was the major cultural and spiritual center in the region. Tiahuanaco’s builders engineered massive stone structures and courtyards – the stages for political and religious rites.

The people of Tiahuanaco left behind artifacts of immense beauty; intricate weavings encoded with meaning, carved and inlaid implements with zoomorphic imagery and incredible finely woven baskets.

Made with dyed grass fibers, the conical baskets display colorful geometric patterns. They survived in truly amazing condition, preserved for centuries in secluded caves in the arid climate of Bolivia’s Southern Altiplano.  They  are  a  dramatic reminder of the advanced artistic traditions of the  Tiahuanaco civilization.