RICH TREASURES.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 18762, 29 December 1930, Page 5

RICH TREASURES.

SOUTH AMERICA’S MUSEUMS. With collections as widely diverse as Italian art, reptiles, and Colonial antiques, 100 museums are maintained in ten republics of South America, according to the first “Directory of Museums in South America,” published by the American Association of Museums of America. The book is the result of an extended trip over the southern continent made by Laurence Vail Coleman, director of the association. The purpose of the mission was to establish contact with the museums of art, history and science in South America on behalf of museums in the United States. The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace supported the undertaking. 58 National Museums. Dr. Coleman found 58 national museums, of which 41 were in capital cities. Each of the four larger capitals —Buenos Ayres, Rio de Janeiro. Santiago and Lima —has three separate national museums for art, history and natural history. Each of the five smaller capitals, Bogota, Caracas, La Paz, Asuncion and Quito, has a single museum of general scope. “As to the oldest museum in South America there is some doubt, since the institution which may deserve that distinction has had an interrupted history,” Dr. Coleman said. “The National School of Fine Arts at Rio de Janeiro was established in 1826 as the direct successor of the Royal School of Sciences, Arts and Trades which was created in 1815 by King Joao himself. The paintings are still in the art gallery of the school. Rio Museum in 1818. “In 1818 the National Museum at Rio de Janeiro was established by decree of the emperor. Five years later, in 1823, the National Museum of Natural History at Buenos Ayres was founded. In the same year the National Museum at Bogota came into being. “A majority of the museums of South America had their beginnings in the latter half of the nineteenth century. During this period the museum idea was spreading steadily and nations were taking action again and again to develop their museum systems. “The present century has witnessed a continuation of this movement, but recent years have brought a new stimulus to museum making—the expositions that have been held in several countries to commemorate the completion of 100 years of independence. The Bolivarian Museum and the Museum of Italian Art, both at Lima, were established in 1921. The National Historical Museum and the Agricultural and Commerce Museum (recently changed to the Institute for Commercial Expansion) at Rio de Janeiro are other instances; both date from 1922.”

Snake Museum. Perhaps the strangest of the 100 institutions described in the directory is the Museum of the Butantan Institute at Pinheiros, State of Sao Paulo. This institute is a biological research station, internationally famous for its preparation of serums to counteract snakebite. The exhibits show animals and plants that are poisonous to man and the methods of therapy. A large collection of preserved snakes is a feature, and there is also a snake farm, surrounded by a flooded moat which contains examples of many poisonous snakes of tropical America. Another unique institution is the Museum of Peruvian Archaeology, in Lima, with a building in the preIncan style, housing a great collection of Incan pottery, precious stones, metals, textiles and other relics. The Bolivarian Museum in Lima occupies the historic house which was the home of Simon Bolivar from 1823 to 1826, and W'hich was also occupied for a time by Jose de San Martin. The museum was created by Presidential decree during the Peruvian Centenary celebration in 1921. It ( 'tains furnishings of the old hous. and collections of books and manuscripts. Museums in Argentina. Among many interesting museums in Argentina is the Museo Escolar Sarmiento, a school service museum conducted for the instruction of classes and lending of illustrative material to classrooms of the national schools. It houses 90,000 objects, including mounted plants and animals, prints and photographs available for loans to schools. » The Museum of Fine Arts at Santiago, Chile, is said to be “one of the important institutions of the continent.” The collection represents Chilean art, but there are also works by contemporary artists of other Latin countries, and a few masters are included. The National Museum of Chile was founded in 1830 by the French naturalist, Claude Gay. The Museum of La Salle Institute in Bogota is devoted principally to natural history, but has some archaeological objects. It houses 970 mammals, 43,000 birds, 570 reptiles, 3500 insects and a great number and variety of other natural history specimens.

Bolivar’s Birthplace. The National Museums of Venezuela are houses in the birthplace of Simon Bolivar at Caracas, which has been restored and partially reconstructed. The building was the ancestral home of the Bolivar family and dates to the seventeenth century. The original structure had largely disappeared in 1676 when the property w r as purchased by President Guzman Blanco to be held in custody. A popular subscription conducted by the Patriotic Society financed its purchase and restoration. Stanley, in the East Falland Island, has a small museum in the Town Hall, said to have a fine collection of birds. The National Museum of Bolivia, in La Paz, excels in its archaeological collection. Uruguay has an especially fine museum of national history.