3IO Finn Mf<;rfii or Nvti-sm Histoby — Repobt*;. Vni. V. 



Doputmcnt ot Anthropology . 

 Dopartmcnt of BotAny 

 Dop^ <4 G«ok>cy 



n« »i( Zoology 



Scctioo a< Photography 



AccctsioMt. — The most notable accession of the year in the 

 mcnt of Anthropolof^y is represented by the generous and memorable 

 gift of Mr. William WriRley, Jr., being the Rold treasure excavated from 

 a mound on the river Nechi, in the province of Antifjxia, Colombia, 

 South America. This remarkable and imiquc collection consists ai 36 

 pre-Columbian gold ornaments, comprising; foxu- large embossed breest- 

 plaics of pure gold, two collars of gold foil, two rectangular plates, two 

 {ragmentar>' sheets of gold foil, one necklace of gold beads, four ptairs of 

 gold ear-rings, three cast figures of a bird, and eighteen miscellaneous 

 onuonents. The foiu" breastplates were beaten out on stone moulds 

 car\-ed in relief ^^-ith the design required; they were apparently interred 

 with women of high social standing, who were buried adorned with 

 jcwclr>' and ornaments they had most prized during their lifetime. 

 Two of these plates arc selected for illustration in this Report; also 

 one of the birds and three of the ear-rings, which arc exquisite both as 

 to artistic quality of design and perfection of technique. The gold coUco 

 tion has lxx?n installed in the Gem Room, and isaccompanied by ageneral 

 label setting forth itssignificancc. It has attracted a great deal of attention 

 and given rise to many favorable comments, both in the press and on 

 the part of archaeologists. Mr. Stanley Field made a notable gift to 

 the Department by adding to its Tibetan collection a fine portrait- 

 statue, 22 inches high, \^Tought in cl- '  enamel and representing a 

 Grand Lama of the Buddhist Church oi i lixit. Comparison with other 

 known images permits the establishment of the identity of this person- 

 age. In all prolwibility it is a portrayal of Pal-dan-ye-she, a church 

 dignitary- only next in rank to the Dalai Lama of Lhasa and having his 

 seat in Tashilhunpo in central Tibet. He is known as the Tashi Lama, 

 being famous for ha\nng been the first Tibetan, who in 1774 entered into 

 negotiations with the Anglo-Indian Government through George B 

 an emissary of Warren Hastings, Governor General of India. In his 

 diar>' Bogle characterizes him thus: "His disposition is open, candid, 

 and generous. He is extremely merry and entertaining in conversation, 

 and tells a pl^tsant stor>- with a great deal of humor and action. I 

 end eav or ed to find out in his character those defects which arc insepara- 

 ble from htmianit y, but he is so tmi\*ersally beloved that I had no 1 



