Unidentified Mayan artist. Whistle with Female Figure. 600–900. Jaina, Mexico. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Purchase with exchange funds from Gift of Alan Wurtzburger, BMA 1968.6

Indigenous Arts of the Ancient Americas

The collection represents 56 artistic traditions from North, Central, and South America, including Aztec, Teotihuacan, and Maya objects from Mesoamerica, Tolima, Diquís, and Muisca objects from Central America, and Moche, Nasca, and Paracas objects from Andean South America.

A new presentation of the collection focuses on the creation and evolution of artworks before the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Featuring works such as a 6th-century Teotihuacan mural fragment from the Tlacuilapaxco apartment compound, Muisca gold-copper votive offerings, and a Moche portrait head bottle, the installation will emphasize the impact of urbanization in Mesoamerica, the growth and development of regional trade networks across the Central American Isthmus, and the effect of antiquity on the art histories of civilizations of the Andean region.