Muisca raft
| Muisca raft | |
|---|---|
 The Muisca raft | |
| Material | Gold, Silver and copper |
| Size | 19.5 cm x 10.1 cm |
| Created | 600 - 1600 AD |
| Discovered | 1969 near Pasca |
| Present location | Gold Museum, Bogota Colombia |
The Muisca raft (Balsa Muisca in Spanish), sometimes referred to as the El Dorado Raft, is an artistic figure of pre-Columbian gold votive, drafted by the Muisca who established one of the four grand civilisations in the Americas on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes. The piece is exhibited at the Gold Museum in Bogota. It is estimated that the figure was drawn between 600 and 1600 AD by lost-wax casting in gold with a small amount of copper.[1]
The figure refers to the ceremony of the legend of El Dorado. It represents the ceremony of investiture of the Muisca chief, which used to take place at Lake Guatavita.[1] During this ritual, the heir to the chieftainship (zipa) covered his body with gold dust and jumped into the lake along with gold offerings and emeralds to the gods. The piece has a base in the shape of a log boat with dimensions of 19.5 cm x 10.1 cm and various figures on the raft, the largest figure that stands in the middle apparently represents the chief, which is adorned with headdresses, nose rings and earrings, measuring 10.2 cm and is surrounded by his soldiers who carry banners.
The raft was found by three farmers in early 1969 in a cave in the village of Lázaro Fonte in the municipality of Pasca (Cundinamarca), Colombia, in a ceramic pot, adorned with a human figure whose face has sharp teeth.[1] The priest of the municipality protected the piece until it was acquired by Bogota's Gold Museum and where it has become one of its major exhibition pieces.[2][3] It has never left Colombia.
Composition[]
The Muisca raft weighs 287.5 grams.[4] It is an alloy of gold with copper and silver.[5] An analysis using X-ray fluorescence has revealed breakdown of the composition as detailed in the table below:
| Element (symbol) | % by composition[5] | % by weight[6] |
|---|---|---|
| Gold (Au) | 63.0±0.31 | 79.8 |
| Copper (Cu) | 19.4±0.13 | 8.0 |
| Silver (Ag) | 17.6±0.13 | 12.2 |
Thus, the raft contains approximately 7.38 troy ounces (229 grams) of gold.
Gallery[]
Right frontal view
Left frontal view
Rear view
Actual size in relation to its exhibition case
See also[]
- Muisca
- El Dorado
- Muisca goldworking
- Lake Guatavita
References[]
- ^ a b c Red Cultural del Banco de la República en Colombia (2020-04-27). "La balsa muisca y el Dorado".
- ^ Banco de la Republica: Exposición del Museo del Oro del Banco de la República en Bogotá (in Spanish)
- ^ (in Spanish) Explanation of the metallurgy of the Muisca raft by Eduardo Londoño - Museo del Oro https://www.youtube.com/user/faccienciashumanas http://www.humanas.unal.edu.co/
- ^ COLOMBIA, ¿el Dorado? Spanish Academic Page Online. University of Delaware.
- ^ a b Secrets: Golden Raft of El Dorado. Smithsonian Channel. 2013. Event occurs at 27 minutes, 11 seconds.
- ^ Based on standard atomic weights of 196.966569, 63.546, and 107.8682 for gold, copper, and silver, respectively.
External links[]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Muisca raft. |
- The Offering Raft[permanent dead link]
- The Muisca Raft: Symbol of El Dorado
- Archaeological artefact types
- Muisca art
- Colombian culture
- 1969 archaeological discoveries
- Gold sculptures