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Jade Museum

COSTA RICA JADE MUSEUM - GENERAL INFORMATION

On October 31, 1977, the INS opened the Museum under the name "Archaeological Collection of the National Insurance Institute", then in 1980 with the agreement XI 6556 Session of the Directive Board, changed the name to Jade Museum.

The Jade Museum, through his twenty-seven years of operation has allowed thousands of local and foreign visitors to visit their showrooms, taking the opportunity to admire one of the richest collections of America. The variety of the collection, consisting of four collections, archeology, art, ethnography and numismatics, reflects one of the objectives of the INS, to generate a social contribution, through registration, documentation andexhibits.

For over a quarter century, the cultural heritage housed in the Museum, has served as ambassador to Costa Rica, as part of international exhibitions displayed in different cities of America, Europe and Asia.

The high quality of the art collection is reflected for example in the significant amount of the most renowned works of Costa Rican artists, representing different periods of national artistic production, which in many moments have been transferred on loan to exhibitions and research.

Over the years, the Jade Museum has provided its showrooms, both to publicize the product of national and international artists as the exhibition shows dealing with topics as diverse as history, science, technology and other issues related to human activity.


PRE-COLUMBIAN JADE

The pre-Columbian collection kept by the Jade Museum, is comprised of a wide variety of ceramic artifacts, bone, wood, shell and stone like statuary, grindstones, grinding hands, especially with objects made by specialists, from a variety of semi precious mineral known within the Costa Rican archeology and jades.

Each piece of jade denotes a specialized work process, which arises from the cultural patterns of each region. So the raw material and the process of carving the rocks and minerals, is the result of the accumulation of knowledge transmitted from generation to generation, as well as technological exchange that these pre-Columbian societies had within its territorial unity, as well as its relationship to other cultural groups.

The peak in the production of jade artifacts, according to recent scientific data lies within a time range that goes from 500 b.C - 800 a.C, when it begins to decline the use of this material and is replaced by elaborate gold artifacts.

Jade objects are usually recovered from burial sites found in association with other archaeological evidence such as pottery, stone, bone and shell artifacts among others.

Ceramic objects from the collection of pre-Columbian Jade Museum, show a wide range of shapes and designs, according to archaeological or cultural region of origin.

The pre-Columbian clay artisans made not only pots, bowls, plates, but also concocted metates, rattles, flutes, flutes, drums, human figures, inhalers, stamps, among others.

In the case of ceramic seals, they showed symbolic designs according to their religious beliefs. Designs that were used by high range characters to paint their faces and bodies for religious ceremonies related to funeral rites, birth, and initiation of adulthood.




 
 
 

SCHEDULE:

Open
Monday to Friday from 8:30a.m. – 3:30p.m.

Saturday from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

ADDRESS:

Main INS Building (Instituto Nacional de Seguros)

(Calles  9-11, Avenidas 7-9)
San José, Costa Rica

Telephone: (506) 2287-6034 (ext 2584)
Fax: (506) 2255-3456
Email: museodeljade@ins-cr.com

RATES

General:
$8.00 adults

Museum admission is free in the following cases:

  • Children under 12 years old.
  • Students with valid ID.
  • Every Wednesday and first Saturday of each month.
 
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