This is the second of two exhibitions devoted to MASP Landmann Long-Term Loan, with 906 pieces brought to the Museum in 2016, remaining here until 2026. Over more than five decades, Oscar and Edith Landmann have gathered one of the most significant collections of pre-Columbian art in Brazil. Encompassing objects produced between 1600 BC and the sixteenth century, attributed to 35 “archaeological cultures,” the loan preserves Chavin, Vicus, Nazca, Moche, Recuay, Chimu, Inca, and other pieces from the present-day territories of Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Brazil, and Caribbean countries. The first show was devoted to fabrics, and this one features 718 samples made of ceramics, metal, wood, stone, bone, and shell, as well as feathers, fibers, and vegetal or mineral pigments.
The pieces were grouped based on the similarity of their stylistic characteristics. If, on the one hand, we cannot determine direct relations between these material sets and the identity of a people or ethnic group, the visual and technological traits of the objects allow us to assume certain historical and temporal limits, which reflect processes of interaction, disputes, and exchanges among the ancient Amerindians, whose histories are barely known by the Brazilian public.
The dissemination of knowledge about Amerindian populations has been growing through initiatives of museums and other institutions in the arts field, interested in including Indigenous perspectives in their narratives. In this sense, by revealing the potential of the archaeological collections for scientific research and the acknowledgment of the American continent’s ancestry, the exhibition incorporates the careful view of the collectors, who were attentive to the selected objects and their stories, a remarkable feature of MASP Landmann Long-Term Loan.
The exibition is part of MASP’s 2023 program dedicated to Indigenous Histories. This year the agenda includes shows by Carmézia Emiliano, MAHKU, Paul Gauguin, Sheroanawe Hakihiiwe, Melissa Cody, and also the collective exhibit Indigenous Histories.
Long-term loan MASP Landmann — Pre-Columbian ceramics and metals is curated by Marcia Arcuri, MASP adjunct curator of pre-Columbian art, with support of Leandro Muniz, MASP assistant curator.
