Zenu Gold Museum, Cartagena, Colombia

The Zenu people of Colombia are an Indigenous group with deep historical roots in the Caribbean lowlands, particularly in the valleys of the Sinu and San Jorge rivers.

Flourishing from around 200 BCE to 1600 CE, they developed sophisticated systems of hydraulic engineering to manage seasonal flooding, transforming vast wetlands into fertile agricultural land.

Their society was organized into provinces—FinZenu, PanZenu, and Zenufana—each with distinct roles in governance, agriculture, and gold production. Women held prominent roles in Zenu society, often symbolizing fertility and wisdom, and were even known to lead religious centers, such as the female chief Toto who governed FinZenu during the Spanish conquest.

Gold held profound cultural and spiritual significance for the Zenu. They mastered the lost-wax casting technique to create intricate ornaments, often depicting animals like birds, fish, and jaguars. These pieces weren’t merely decorative—they symbolized fertility, power, and the interconnectedness of life. Gold breastplates, earrings, and pendants were worn during ceremonies and buried with the dead, reflecting beliefs in rebirth and the afterlife. The Spanish conquistadors were drawn to this wealth, and much of the Zenu’s gold was looted during colonial expeditions.

Today, the legacy of Zenu gold craftsmanship is preserved at the Museo del Oro Zenu in Cartagena. Located in the heart of the walled city near Plaza Bolívar, this museum showcases over 500 gold artifacts, along with ceramics, bone carvings, and shell pieces that reflect the Zenu worldview and artistry4. The exhibits explore themes like amphibious living, social organization, and the symbolic role of women. Visitors can admire the unique gold weave patterns and animal figurines, which echo the Zenu’s reverence for nature and their environment.

Though smaller than Bogotá’s Gold Museum, Cartagena’s Zenu Gold Museum offers an intimate and insightful look into one of Colombia’s most resilient Indigenous cultures. It’s free to visit and includes multimedia presentations that deepen the experience. The museum not only honors the Zenu’s artistic achievements but also serves as a reminder of their enduring presence—many Zenu descendants still live in Colombia today, continuing to fight for land rights and cultural recognition.

Facade of the Zenu Gold Museum The Zenu Gold Museum in Cartagena is housed in a beautifully restored colonial building that reflects the architectural charm of the city’s historic walled center. Located directly across from Plaza Bolívar, the museum occupies a prominent spot in the heart of Cartagena’s old town, surrounded by cobblestone streets and pastel-colored facades. The building itself is a classic example of Spanish colonial design, with thick stone walls, arched doorways, and wooden balconies that overlook the bustling square. Its understated elegance blends seamlessly with the surrounding colonial-era structures, making it a natural part of the city’s architectural tapestry. The museum’s facade is modest yet inviting, with a warm ochre or cream-colored exterior that contrasts beautifully with the dark wood of its doors and window frames. A small plaque marks the entrance, and the building’s colonial proportions—low and wide rather than tall—give it a grounded, intimate feel. Visitors often remark on the museum’s air-conditioned interior, which offers a welcome respite from Cartagena’s tropical heat. Though the museum is compact, its thoughtful layout and design make it feel spacious and immersive. Inside, the museum spans two floors, with exhibits arranged around a central staircase. The building’s original colonial features have been preserved, including exposed wooden beams and tiled floors, which add to the authenticity of the experience. Multimedia displays and bilingual signage are integrated into the space without disrupting its historical ambiance. The museum was renovated and reopened in 2023, enhancing its accessibility and updating its exhibits while maintaining the integrity of the building’s colonial character. Overall, the Zenu Gold Museum’s setting is as much a part of the experience as the artifacts it houses. Its location in a historic mansion within Cartagena’s walled city not only honors the legacy of the Zenu people but also situates their story within the broader narrative of Colombia’s colonial past. The building stands as a quiet tribute to resilience and cultural continuity, inviting visitors to step into a space where history is both preserved and celebrated.

«SERVICES Guided tours at scheduled times Scheduled guided tours in Colombian sign language Pedagogical animations for students Loan of didactic cases Workshops All our services are free INFORMATION www.banrepcultural.org/cartagena/museo-del-oro-zenu @BanrepculturalCartagena Enjoy library and cultural program services in the Bartolomé Calvo library and the Banco de la Republica building.»

«6,000 years amid land and water» The motto “6,000 years amid land and water” from the Zenu Gold Museum in Cartagena encapsulates the profound relationship between the Zenu people and their environment—a landscape defined by rivers, wetlands, and fertile plains. This phrase isn’t just poetic; it’s a historical declaration. It refers to the estimated span of time the Zenu culture has thrived in the Colombian Caribbean, adapting ingeniously to the amphibious terrain of the Sinu and San Jorge river basins. Their mastery of hydraulic engineering, including vast networks of canals and drainage systems, allowed them to transform flood-prone areas into productive farmland, showcasing a deep understanding of ecological balance. The “land and water” motif also speaks to the Zenu’s spiritual and cultural worldview. Water was not merely a resource—it was a sacred element woven into their myths, rituals, and daily life. Their gold artifacts often depict animals like frogs, fish, and birds, symbolizing the interconnectedness of terrestrial and aquatic realms. The museum’s exhibits echo this duality, presenting gold pieces alongside ceramics and shellwork that reflect the Zenu’s reverence for nature and their amphibious existence. By invoking “6,000 years,” the motto asserts the Zenu’s enduring legacy, predating colonial contact by millennia. It’s a reminder that Indigenous history in Colombia is not a footnote—it’s foundational. The museum’s renovated curation invites visitors to explore this timeline through immersive displays, including soundscapes, digital maps, and storytelling from Zenu descendants. These elements help bridge ancient traditions with contemporary identity, reinforcing that the Zenu are not relics of the past but active stewards of their heritage. Ultimately, the motto serves as both a tribute and a challenge. It honors the Zenu’s resilience and ingenuity while urging us to reconsider how we view history—not as a linear march from conquest to modernity, but as a layered narrative shaped by those who lived in harmony with the land and water long before empires arrived.

Breastplate with landscape with burial mounds and spectacled caimans Ayapel metalwork.

Staff finials in the form of crab pincer with spectacled caimans Early Zenu metalwork.

Feline pendant Early Zenu metalwork.

Rattle head in the form of an ibis Early Zenu metalwork.

Amid land and water «Over a period of thousands of years, vastly diverse amphibious worlds have developed in inland and coastal areas of Colombia's Caribbean region. In these ancient landscapes, wet rainy seasons follow hot dry seasons in a never-ending cycle. Boundaries between land and water move as floodwaters rise and fall. Green plains become marshes, and where before you used to walk, now you have to sail. The land is transformed, sometimes unpredictably. The inhabitants of these worlds prepare for life in times of flood and drought. The rhythm of life has taught them to change their food, their home, and their skin. In the past, amphibious societies depicted their peers in the air, on land and in water on musical instruments, staff finials and body ornaments. Birds, the lords of the skies, are protagonists on metal, pottery, stone and shell artifacts; mammals, reptiles and fish are less common.»

Human-crustacean pendants «Human-crustacean pendants were made in Colombia's Caribbean region for almost two thousand years. They are also found in the earliest metalwork from Central America.» Right: «Early Zenu pendant, rich in gold, from the initial centuries of the current era.»

Beings with forked headdresses Center: «The beings with forked headdresses wear different nose rings. Those who wore them related themselves to these amphibious beings.» Right: «Early Zenu metalwork.» Bottom: «Beings wearing a forked headdress appear in Colombian Caribbean metalwork. They have human faces, bodies in the form of a lobster or shrimp and, occasionally, frogs' legs, which make them amphibious personages.»

Frogs and toads «Frogs and toads are born in fresh water. After their metamorphosis, they live in aquatic and terrestrial environments. They symbolize amphibious life.»

Boat-billed herons

Herons

Stork

Staff finial «This early Zenu staff finial combines various species: a curassow's crest, an ibis' beak, and a duck's body.»

Muscovy Duck

Ibises or limpkins

«Curassows, pigeons, owls, tinamous, parrots, scavenger birds and some birds of pray need well-preserved, mature forests, which have now disappeared. Herons, ibises, limpkins, spoonbills, cormorants and ducks closely follow water movements in order to determine their feeding, reproduction and house building strategies.»

«Certain birds can be recognized in these objects by the shapes of their beaks, the size of which is frequently exaggerated. Craftsman adorned many of them with the curly crest of the curassow.»

Pink spoonbills «In shallow water, spoonbills fish by moving their flat beaks in the way humans use nets. The heron stabs its beak quickly and precisely, like a fisherman with his harpoon.»

Coroncoros «The coroncoros are among the few fish depicted on metal.»

Felines «Felines with elaborate headdresses are perhaps mythical characters. San Jacinto Range and lower-Magdalena region metalwork, 1100 to 1700 in the current era.»

«The different postures and attitudes of the felines in these objects illustrate the close harmony that existed between these predators.»

Choose and move to eat «The animal species that were eaten by amphibious societies were selected on the basis of what they knew about the habits and life cycles of those species and how they viewed the world. Freshwater fish were preferred for eating, even at places near the sea. Marine and freshwater mollusks were gathered both on the coast an in the interior. Capybara, hicotea turtle, iguana, spectacled caiman, deer and paca, all inhabitants of marshes and forests, completed the diet. Despite their great abundance and diversity, birds were favored less in the kitchen. People learned to move to the same rhythm as those species. When water levels were low, they follow the fish that migrated upstream from the marshes to spawn. At the start of the rainy season, they moved toward the beaches to hunt for hicotea turtles and collect their eggs. At night, they hunted nocturnal mammals.»

Building with nature «From the 9th century before the current era, and for around two thousand years, amphibious societies transformed the landscape so they could live on the floodable plains of the Mompox Depression. They built an extensive hydraulic system of canals and ridges to run off excess water and sediments during cyclical periods when the Cauca and San Jorge rivers burst their banks. In the rainy season, the ridges meant that they could continue their agricultural activities above the level of the water. And in the dry season, they used the sediments deposited in the canals during the flood to fertilize the ridges. Coca, corn, sweet potato, cassava, chill pepper, pumpkin and passion fruit were grown on a seasonal basis. The ridges were arranged in patterns, aesthetically and based on their use and an ideal order of the world. There were long ones, perpendicular to the straight courses of the natural channels; on the outside of meanders, they were fan-shaped and, on the inside, they were like fishbones, plaited and funnelled. Ridges near the artificial platforms on which they built their homes were domestic vegetable gardens and were like checkerboards. Building and maintaining the waterway system was part of everyday family life. Social links and links with their territory flowed with the movement of the waters.»

Distribution of female figures in the region explored by this museum «Complejo Batancí, Cerámica Monil, Tradición Incisa Alisada, Complejo Montelíbano, Complejo Carate-Pajaral, Tradición Granulosa Incisa.»

Pottery figures of women «Pottery figures of women have been found in the graves of people who lived in the Mompox Depression hydraulic system. They illustrate the metal necklaces, earrings, nose rings and breastplates that were worn as an ornament and in funerary regalia.»

N-shaped nose rings «N-shaped nose rings were produced in various regions and for a long time. They seem to have been used by most of the population, unlike less common objects such as elongated nose rings.»

Metal breastplates «Societies that lived along the waterway system in the first millennium of the current era buried some of their dead in burial mounds on their housing platforms. As an offering for the journey to the great beyond, the deceased was provided with metal, stone and pottery objects, and probably also with other items that have not been preserved.»

Metal breastplate «The protuberances on the metal breastplates evoke the gentle features of burial mounds. The rounded shapes appear to relate to the female figures that accompanied the dead in their graves.»

Earring for many people «Semi-circular, filigree earrings were made for almost two thousand years by various societies on the Caribbean plains, the San Jacinto Range, and in the lower-Magdalena region. They were probably worn by various social segments. Because of their different shapes, we can assume that they were worn by people of all ages. Over the course of this lengthy tradition of producing earrings, differences of style can be seen in terms of alloys, decorations, sizes, fills and forms that were developed in different regions and at different times. The production technique and shape remained invariable throughout. Unlike filigree work today, where soldered strands are used in Mompox and Ciénaga de Oro, pre-Hispanic filigree was done by casting using the lost wax method. Whereas contemporary goldsmiths create designs with metal strands, their forbears used strands of wax.»

Goldwork group: Group of artifacts made in a particular geographic area and a specific period

Earrings Top: «Between the final centuries before the current era and the early years of the colonial period, a long metalworking tradition developed on the Caribbean plains, the San Jacinto Range, and in the lower-Magdalena region. Regional styles with similarities and differences between them can be identified.» Right: «The gestures of each individual goldsmith can be distinguished in the shape, inclination and size of the birds on these earrings, as if they were calligraphy.» Left: «Manufacturing error: mold was not completely filled by the metal.»

Lost wax casting «Remains of feeders by which the metal flowed through inside the mold.»

Hammering and embossing Right: «Hammered bells.» Left: «Hammering tool prints.»

The transformative power of blowing «Blowing connects two arts: goldwork, and the playing of wind instruments. Goldsmiths fanned the flames with ceramic nozzles fitted to canes for casting metal. Players of wind instruments created sound languages by blowing flutes, ocarinas, cane pipes, snail-shell trumpets and gourds. »

Sound universes «The sounds made by these wind instruments from the Lower Magdalena Region and the San Jacinto Range could have been ways of communicating, sound languages for establishing dialogues with various beings in the environment —animals, rivers, plants, mountains— on specific social occasions. These flutes and ocarinas were tuned, intentionally, to produce relationships between the tones, which are very different from those made by western instruments. They produce tones which differ from the tempered western system of twelve semitones that have a symmetrical distance between each one and which is adjusted mathematically. Flutes illustrate the numerous technical decisions that this traditions craftsmen made. Some relate to the shape: the resonating chamber consists of two cones and the distance between the tone holes is proportional to the size of the instrument: the length of the windway also depends on this Other decisions relate to the clay, the polishing —they were polished inside— and firing conditions. All of them are exceptional, unique characteristics of these wind instruments.»

Flutes, ocarinas and shell trumpets «Flutes, ocarinas and shell trumpets were all part of the sound universe of people from the lower-Magdalena region and the San Jacinto Range (12th to 17th centuries). Their sounds participated in curative, trance, festive and ceremonial contexts.» «Players used these instruments to establish a dialogue with humans and animals. Although the sounds the ocarinas made did not coincide with those of the birds depicted in them, musicians could have guided the sound experience to evoke the birdsong.»

Working with shells «The craftsman selected the most appropriate part of the shell for the artifact he was going to make.»

Shells of snails and bivalves «From the 12th century on wards, people in the lower-Magdalena region made numerous artifacts from the shells of snails and bivalves. This work illustrates a profound knowledge of the mollusks found in the various ecosystems in Colombia's Caribbean region.» Left: «In order to mark the feet and abdomen of these felines, the craftsman sawed the shell with a wet thread covered with sand.» Bottom: «Many objects were made from the shells of marine mollusks. These materials circulated in exchange networks between peoples from the coast and those living in riverside environments.»

Enigmatic characters «This iconic figure was a symbol that was adopted and given diverse meanings by different societies separated in time and space, from the beginning of our era to the 17th century and from southwest Colombia to Mexico. These pendants repeat multiple variations of a masked person, as if he or she were taking part in a ritual. From a schematic body and flat legs rises a great feathered headdress, the face transformed with animal features and with instruments in the hands. What could it have meant for the inhabitants of the amphibious worlds over a period of seventeen centuries?»

Enigmatic characters The term Darien has traditionally been used in literature on pre-Hispanic goldsmithing to designate a group of lost-wax cast pieces in gold or tumbaga, representing schematic human figures. They were used as pendants and all have suspension rings on the back with obvious signs of use. They represent human figures with various ornaments and sometimes zoomorphic masks, suggesting that they must have held special significance for the groups that crafted them. Although they vary widely in style, they are related, as they share certain common features. Their distribution covers numerous goldsmithing areas in Colombia and Central America.

Blowpipe nozzle

See Also

• Convent of La Popa
• San Felipe de Barajas Castle
• Cartagena
• Church of Santo Domingo
• Cathedral of Saint Catherine of Alexandria

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Source

• Museo del Oro Zenu - Wikipedia

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Location