By Zhang Kun  
China Daily

The Gold Museum Colombia is showcasing stunning, historic gold treasures from South America for the first time in the Middle Kingdom.

Select pieces from the museum, the world's largest and oldest collection of some 33,000 precious metal artifacts, are showcased at Shanghai Museum. Entitled Gold: Prehistoric Art of Columbia, the Shanghai show features over 200 antique gold items from the 7th century BC to AD 1500, when Spanish colonialists first started to arrive in Latin America.

"We hope to inspire Chinese people's interest in Colombia," says Efrain Riano, director of the exhibition department of the Gold Museum Colombia. "I believe more exhibitions about Colombia will be held in China after this."

The show, featuring 253 exhibits from Colombia, comprises five themed sections: The Golden People, The Fabulous Animals, The Animal-man, Abstraction and Nature, and The Universe of Shapes and Forms.

He traces the beginning of Ancient Indian culture to the Asian immigrants who traveled across the Bering Strait about 20,000 years ago and settled in South America. When they found metals such as gold and copper, ancient Indians valued them for the luster rather than their usefulness.

Chieftains of ancient Indian tribes wore many gold accessories on their necks, ears and bodies as a token of their power. Many of these went into the chieftain's grave when he was buried and were excavated centuries later.

Visitors will get a chance to learn about the profound philosophy of indigenous South Americans and their deep bond with Mother Nature. A series of gold accessories come in forms that are half human and half animal, once worn on the chest just as one would wear a tie today, says Riano. These are a result of the belief that humans and animals could morph into one another.

Very fond of nature, the ancient tribe found many different uses for various plants. A cluster of gold bottles on display were once used to hold potions made of plant pulp, he adds.
While the exhibits would give viewers a fair idea of how South America's indigenous people lived, how these items could remain in such immaculate condition when they were excavated in Colombia remains a mystery, says Riano.

The entire collection is worth $13 million, according to Riano.

At the opening of the exhibition on Wednesday afternoon, Shanghai Museum announced its plan to send an exhibition to the Gold Museum in Bogota, Colombia, in 2010. Dragons of the Emperor consists of more than 120 pieces cast in bronze, and jade, in addition to handicrafts and ancient costumes.

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