San José, the capital of Costa Rica, has two museums devoted to Pre-Columbian treasures: Museo Nacional de Costa Rica and Museo del Oro Precolombino located at the central bank, Banco Central de Costa Rica. Both are worth visiting. Museo Nacional has a remarkable collection of over 45,000 Pre-Columbian objects in gold, jade, ceramics and stone. The Spanish conquistadors originally named the country Costa Rica ('Rich Coast') because they found the local chiefs decked with gold ornaments. The earliest gold ornaments date from around 500 AD and depict humans, birds and animals. Little gold pendants of frogs abound, as do heavier pendants of jaguars, conveying an impression of power, and spry monkeys with golden tails circling over their bodies. Indeed, what you are really looking at is the natural history of Costa Rica transformed into gold. Sharks, snakes, alligators, spiders, scorpions, butterflies, dragonflies, bats, and deer are all cast in gold. A gold snapshot of Costa Rica a thousand or more years ago.

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica
Calle 17
Avenidas Central y Segunda
San José
Costa Rica

Tel.     +506 221 4429
Fax     +506 283 7427
e-mail  info@khm.at
Web    www.cr/arte/museonac/museonac.htm

Open

Tuesday to Saturday 8.30 - 16.30
Sunday 9 -16.30
Closed Monday