Aymara silversmithing
Metalworking has been practiced in the Andean Altiplano for thousands of years, especially in the centuries immediately following the Spanish conquest, when Bolivia’s Potosí Mine produced vast quantities of silver. The items in this display show how this ancient technology was combined with Old World Baroque forms. Today, Aymara women engage in friendly rivalry at festivals, wearing elaborate silver jewellery on eye-catching embroidered cloaks reminiscent of Spanish Baroque styles.
