Recovered Hoards
The Quimbaya Treasure
Classical period · found 1890s · Middle Cauca valley, Quindío, Colombia
Recovered (disputed)The prize. 122 pieces of the finest pre-Columbian goldwork
Where. Middle Cauca valley, Quindío, Colombia
Status. Recovered (disputed)
Where. Middle Cauca valley, Quindío, Colombia
Status. Recovered (disputed)
The account
From two tombs in the Cauca valley came the masterwork of the Quimbaya goldsmiths, 122 pieces of nose-rings, pendants, and the famous lime-flasks called poporos, cast by a lost-wax skill few cultures ever matched. Colombia gave the hoard to Spain in 1893; it sits in Madrid still, and Colombia has formally asked for it home.
How it was found
- Recovered from Colombian tombs in the 1890s; the Colombian government gave 122 of the finest gold pieces to Spain in 1893, where they remain to this day, at the center of a repatriation fight.
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