El Museo de America
On Friday, March 11th, I made my first foray into Madrid since arriving a week ago. While I would’ve like to make it in before now, instead I’ve spent the last week wandering the aisles of furniture stores, electronic stores, grocery stores, and an all-encompassing tienda (store) called El Corte Ingles. While the idea of furnishing an entire house with new stuff may sound great, the reality is far different.
With things settling down by Thursday, I started to explore the idea of going into the city for awhile on Friday. With this first trip, I wanted to find a neighborhood on the northern side of the city that I hadn’t explored in my prior visit in August. The area I chose was in the neighborhood of Gaztambide near the Plaza de la Moncloa.
Gaztambide itself is not necessarily a tourist area, although it does draw a lot of foreigners due to the Cuidad Universitaria (City University of Madrid). Outside of the students, most of the people you pass on the street are Madrileños, or locals. The ages range from young to old and the businesses you pass are modern. These range from furniture stores (please no more) to banks and even car dealerships. The car dealerships in particular provide a nice contrast to what people in the U.S. are accustomed to. In the U.S. we have big, sprawling car lots with hundreds of cars. In Madrid, a car dealership looks more like a Higbees window than a parking lot. Only three or four models are on display and they are set in big picture windows. I first noticed this while visiting South Kensington in London, U.K. Near the Underground station was a Lamborghini dealership set in a storefront. Talk about window shopping.
El Faro de Moncloa
The Museo de America is very easy to find due to its location next to the Faro de Moncloa, a space needle of sorts that provides great views of the city. At least I assume it provides great views, it was closed and fenced off when I visited. Sitting next to the Faro de Moncloa is the Museo de America. The reason I chose it was for the location, and also because there is a certain irony about an American, starting a Madrid Museum blog, focusing on Spanish colonial activities in the Americas.
The building that the museum is housed in is beautiful. It was built between 1943 and 1954. Its style is that of a colonial mansion or cloister with large tower providing the main entrance and a central courtyard complete with a fountain. The construction is entirely of brick, even the vaulted ceilings. This gives the place the feel of a church or a crypt, without all the sinister creepiness of the later. They avoid too much of an underground feel with large windows in all the main halls. These hallways then encircle the exhibition rooms that are lit with only spotlights. The halls themselves are dark. This is to help preserve the artifacts, many of which are well over 500 years old some extend back nearly two millennia.
Entering through the main entrance, you are greeted by a visitor services representative who takes your three euro for admission. One thing I’ve found in Madrid is that most museums are very inexpensive. The three euro admission charge is about $4.25 in U.S. dollars. After paying my admission, I was given two brochures. One of these in Spanish and another in English, there was also a headphone system available, but the admissions person didn’t even offer it to me. Either she sensed, from my butchered request for an adult admission, that I was unable to speak the language or none were available.
The museum itself is divided into five themes. These are “The Instruments of Knowledge”, “Reality of America”, “Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms and States”, “Religion”, and “Communications”. All of these areas are interesting. I personally enjoyed the area on religion. I give the museum credit for acknowledging the independent traditions of the natives prior to European contact. What really interests me are all the parallels one can draw from a comparison of the ancient civilizations of Central and South America to the Egyptians. So much of the artwork, reverence for the dead, etc… is similar.
The highlights of the museum were a nearly three foot tall Mayan funeral urn dating from A.D. 900-1000, a Kero (deity) in the form of a jaguar from the 15th century, the many gold statues and ornamental items from 17th century Peru, and the treasure trove of Mestizo paintings in the collection. These paintings represent everyday life in the 18th century as Natives, Europeans and Africans struggled to make a life in New Spain, intermarrying and defining their roles in society.
Cup made to look like a Jaguar
Peruvian Mummy
Kero in the form of a Jaguar (15th Century)
Overall, the Museum was educational and enjoyable albeit a little “old school” as far as museum exhibits. There were no hands on exhibits or interactive elements. The museum did offer two areas where videos were shown, but as both were entirely in Spanish, I can’t comment on these.
One other element that is a bit bothersome for an American and especially an American historian is the overall nature of the collection. While the Museum itself was founded in 1943, most of the items on display were collected many years before. Many date to the Royal Cabinet of Natural History. The Royal Cabinet collected items acquired during archaeological excavations, and scientific expeditions. One is left to wonder at what cost some of these items came into their hands. This is never really addressed.
In their defense though, the current museum simply collects the items and has no direct guilt in how some early pieces were acquired. Since its founding, the collection has only grown through donations and purchases. Moving past the issue of acquisition, this Museum is important as evidence of the complex and sophisticated society that existed in the Americas prior to European conquest. It’s definitely worth a visit.
For all my friends at the J.E. Reeves Home and Museum. These are figures from the Spanish Nacimiento or Nativity Scene. Each figure is the size of a Barbie doll and they are onately painted. The Nacimiento is a very common Christmas Tradition in Spain.
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