Museu Barbier-Mueller Art Precolombí

Frommer's Review

Inaugurated in 1997, this museum is a smaller cousin to the museum of the same name in Geneva, which is one of the most important collections of pre-Columbian art in the world. In the restored Palacio Nadal, which was built during the Gothic period, the collection contains almost 6,000 pieces of tribal and ancient art. Josef Mueller (1887-1977) acquired the first pieces by 1908. The pre-Columbian cultures represented created religious, funerary, and ornamental objects of great stylistic variety with relatively simple means. Stone sculpture and ceramic objects are especially outstanding. For example, the Olmecs, who settled on the Gulf of Mexico at the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C., executed notable monumental sculpture in stone and magnificent figures in jade. Many exhibits focus on the Mayan culture, the most homogenous and widespread of its time, dating from 1000 B.C. Mayan artisans mastered painting, ceramics, and sculpture. Note the work by the pottery makers of the lower Amazon, particularly those from the island of Marajó, and the millennium-old gold adornments from northern Peru.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

Back to Top