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elite costume in Indigenous Colombia and throughout the<br />
Americas. <strong>The</strong> diadem connects the resplendent, solar nature<br />
of gold with the equally resplendent—and equally valued—<br />
iridescent feathers, which were also associated with the sky.<br />
<strong>The</strong> gold and feathers worn by the ruler were seen to physically<br />
transform the human ruler into a flying being. Wearing golden<br />
jewelry and feathers allowed the rulers to ascend to the sky<br />
realm and interact with celestial powers. Often this interaction<br />
was to maintain the balance and mutual respect between<br />
humans and nature necessary for life to thrive.<br />
Unlike much of the art that derives from Europe, Indigenous<br />
Colombian art traditions do not focus on the beautiful propor-<br />
tions or ideal facial features of the human figure. Indigenous<br />
jewelry was intended not to represent or decorate the human<br />
body but to transform it. This transformation inserted the<br />
human more intimately into nature, as when the sun’s energy<br />
was captured by an artist working in gold so that an Indigenous<br />
ruler could become one with the sky animals (resplendent<br />
birds) and with the power of the sun itself. <strong>The</strong> objects seen<br />
here—and several others in the Glassell Collection—<br />
celebrate the brilliance of fine goldwork while situating the<br />
power of gold firmly in larger Indigenous ideas of humans and<br />
their relation to nature.<br />
S U R F A C I N G<br />
13<br />
10 1/4 × 9 1/8 × 3/4”
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