Week 5 - Museum of Ethnography and Folklore

Last week the CEINDES team visited the “Museo de Etnografia y Folklore”. The museum boasts a sizeable collection of fabrics, basketry, ceramics, masks, feather art, metalwork, imagery, and other relics. The Palace of the Marquis of Villaverde (which now houses the museum) was built in 1730 and was given to the creoles during Spanish rule. Under the presidency of Saavedra in the 1920´s the palace was made into a museum and was part of the celebration of the new Republic. Our team was very impressed with the beauty of the museum, its high colonial arches and sculptures. We were then given a tour by our guide, Brigita.

Brigita began by showing us the room of fabrics from different tribes. This was followed by the room of masks- the one we had all been waiting for. The museum has a selection of fifty-nine masks of the Andes, Amazonia, East and Bolivian Chaco. Some were beautiful and some were terrifying. The ritual masks not only allow the transformation of the individual into a different character, but also stimulate and embody a world of spiritual and mythic meanings. This inspired us to create some masks later based on the collection. We were later taken to rooms of textiles and ceramics which were equally as beautiful and awesome.

The museum trip was followed by a post-museum task organised by Izzy, Heather and Asif. We designed some paper-mache masks and asked the people with disabilities to decorate them. Everyone had lots of fun (particularly Andrea!) as we used paint, feathers and sequins. The result was a selection of brilliantly coloured masks.

On our next trip we will be visiting the “Museos de Calle Jaen” which are four separate museums celebrating different aspects of the culture and art of Bolivia. We´ll keep you posted!