The Quimbaya were an indigenous people who flourished in what is now Colombia, particularly in the departments of Quindío, Caldas, and Risaralda, from around the 1st century BCE until their decline in the 10th century CE. They are best known for their exceptional craftsmanship in gold, particularly during the Classical Quimbaya period (500 BCE–600 CE), when their society reached its cultural and artistic zenith. The Quimbaya lived in a lush, mountainous region along the Cauca River and developed a complex society with chieftain-led governance, agriculture, and specialized trades such as pottery, weaving, and metallurgy.
Quimbaya gold artifacts are among the most celebrated pre-Columbian treasures in the Americas. These objects were typically made from tumbaga, an alloy of gold and copper, which allowed for a range of hues and greater malleability. The most iconic of these is the Poporo Quimbaya, a ceremonial lime container used in coca-leaf rituals, now housed in Bogotá’s Gold Museum. Other artifacts include stylized human figures, animal-shaped pendants, and intricate jewelry, often buried with the dead as offerings for the afterlife. These pieces reflect both spiritual beliefs and social hierarchies, with gold serving as a sacred medium.
One of the most intriguing subsets of Quimbaya goldwork is the so-called "Quimbaya airplanes"—small, aerodynamic gold figurines that resemble modern aircraft. These artifacts have sparked debate among researchers and enthusiasts, with some suggesting they demonstrate ancient knowledge of aerodynamics, while others argue they are stylized representations of birds or insects. Regardless of interpretation, they underscore the Quimbaya's sophisticated artistic vision and technical prowess.
The most famous collection of Quimbaya artifacts is the Quimbaya Treasure, discovered in 1890 and partially gifted to Spain by Colombia’s president at the time. This treasure, comprising over 400 gold objects, remains a point of cultural pride and controversy, with ongoing calls for its repatriation. Today, the legacy of the Quimbaya endures not only in museums but also in the broader narrative of pre-Columbian ingenuity and artistry.
Entrance to the Quimbaya Museum |
Phytomorphic Lime Container «The metalwork style of these groups is characterized by rounded shapes, smooth surfaces and an intense shine.» |
Phytomorphic Lime Container
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Phytomorphic Coca Leaf Container (With Lid)
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Center: Crown (with a feather-like ornament)
Left: Semiglobular Helmet (with geometric shapes)
«Headpiece and crown found in a grave in Puerto Nare, Antioquia. They are part of the regalia known as "new Quimbaya treasure".» |
Center: Pendant
«Metal figurines have been found in the Mid-Cauca region which depict characters wearing masks, headdresses, and strangely-shaped ornaments. They are local variations of an icon or symbol known as a Darién pendant, which evokes ritual events.» |
Bottom: Anthropomorphic Pendant
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Reel-shaped earrings |
Right: Zoomorphic Pendant (Anteater)
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Frog |
Center right: Lime Stick with a finial (Harpy eagle)
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Center: Lime Stick with a finial (Blue-billed curassow) |
Butterfly |
Sea snail |
Sticks for extracting lime |
Center right: Phytomorphic Lime Container
«Lime container typical of the metalwork style of this period found in a stone sarcophagus in Valdivia, Antioquia.» Bottom left: «Lime container that imitates the furrowed body of an elongated gourd.» |
Top left: Anthropomorphic Pendant
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Incised applied style «It is noted for its relatively rough rhomboidal and ship-shaped forms. The soot marks begin above the base, indicating that the vessels were buried in the fire and the embers were arranged around it. They were used as domestic vessels and then as funerary regalia.» |
«"They walk around naked and barefoot, and the women who wear small shawls are good-lookind, and some of them beautiful." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553) on the Ansermas» |
«"The men have very big bodies, long faces, as to the woman, who are robust." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553) on the Carrapas» |
«"They wear a large bundle of chaquira (small, identical, white, even beads) under their knees, and the same amount above their ankles to form a calf, and they do the same on their arms to form fleshy parts, and the same on their wrists." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1542) on the Ansermas» |
«Metalwork ornaments inserted into facial perforations were part of people's everyday aesthetic practices. Semilunar, ring-shaped or triangular nose-rings, sublabial ornaments, as well as a wide range of skin applications (piercings) and earrings, were worn by men and women of different ages.» |
«"The women are dressed as I say, with well-combed hair, and around their necks are very beautiful necklaces rich in gold, and earrings in their ears, their nostrils are opened yo place some small balls of fine gold in them, some of these are small, and others are larger." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Zopias» |
«Transforming the body by means of metalwork extensions was a showy, visual way to express culture, class, rank, gender and age affiliations.» |
Right: «Winged breastplates are found from Upper-Cauca to the Caribbean plains. This one comes from the locality of San Miguel, Sonsón, Antioquia.» left: «The elaborate headdresses on these pendants evoke ritual bird-transformation scenes.» Bottom: «Small benches had a special significance. They were not just for sitting on; they were extensions of thought, were wise members of the community reflected and traveled to the spiritual dimension of the universe.» |
«The symbols relating to transformation into a bird are found, allegorically, in the schematized shapes of winged breastplates and in the decoration of circular ones.» |
Top: «Breastplate made using the hammering technique and with an embossed, anthropomorphous design. It was found in Quimbaya, Quindio.» Bottom: «"... and those who are not chieftains also wear a string of beads around the neck and a gold frog or toad jewel at the end of it." Jorge Robledo (1540), on the Quimbayas» |
Body modification technologies
Top: Skull deformer
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«Ligatures can be seen in this figure's arms and legs.» |
«"These Indians and their women walk around naked, as do their neighbors, they are great laborers. When they are sowing or digging the earth, they have a macana in one hand to clear the land and a lance in the other one to fight with." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Pozos» |
«"The customs are all the same, except that these people are better and more willing, and the women wear small shawls to cover a certain part of their body, and the men do the same." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Paucuras» |
«"People in this Arma province have medium-sized bodies, are all dark-skinned, so much so that all the male and female Indians in these parts (There is such a multitude of people and such great diversity and length of land) seem to be the children of one mother and one father." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Armas» |
Top: «"The Indians have their farms on the banks of these rivers, and all of them were always engaged in a cruel war, and in many places they speak different languages, so much so that there is a different language in each area and on each hill." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Armas» Right: «"The men are well-disposed, with good faces, the women are the same and very loving." Pedro Cieza de Leon (1553), on the Quimbayas» |
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