Orígenes de la colección americana: Tracing Cultural Artifacts at the National Anthropology Museum

This exhibition, running from May 25 to September 25, 2005, explores the origins and acquisition history of the American collections at the National Museum of Anthropology. It highlights the journeys and diverse circumstances through which objects arrived at the museum, showcasing a part of the institution's own history.

The National Museum of Anthropology initiated a renewal of its permanent exhibition of American collections, which had suffered from the passage of time. While the Sala de América undergoes renovation, this temporary exhibition, 'Orígenes de la colección americana,' offers a view of some pieces previously held in storage. The exhibition's discourse focuses on the origin and source of cultural assets, illustrating the peripeteia, travels, and various situations an object undergoes before reaching a museum. This approach reveals the National Museum of Anthropology's own history, demonstrating that museums are living organisms that grow and change over time. The exhibition also aims to honor the memory of individuals and institutions that contributed to the formation of the American collection, often with scarce resources. It recounts the role of public administration in funding projects and expeditions, and remembers scientists who risked their lives for their discoveries, such as those from the Pacific Expedition (1862-65) which collected pieces from groups like the Jíbaros or Záparos. Feather ornaments collected by Francisco Iglesias Brage in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru, significant donations, and fieldwork by anthropologists are also featured. Among the 138 selected pieces are unique examples, such as two out of twenty 'cuadros de mestizaje' from a Peruvian series, and objects from the Amazonian area whose original cultures have been irreversibly altered by Western influence.

As this exhibition was a temporary display from May 25 to September 25, 2005, specific ticketing information for this past event is not available on the page. Visitors would have likely gained access as part of general museum admission.