COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 37 



Some of these stone articles, the arrow points and the knives, are of 

 obsidian, the product so much in favor for the same purpose in Mexico, 

 and always selected where obtainable on account of the keen cutting 

 edge which it offered. In ornaments, colored stones, some of them 

 quite brilliant, were polished and bored, and used as beads strung 

 upon a cord. Examples of these in the Gavinet collection are exhibited 

 in ^os. 1183, 1184, 1199, and 1200. Their number, in each instance 

 varies, some necklaces having from forty to eighty of these stone 

 beads. They are not always globular, some being oblong, varying in 

 diameter, and occasionally an attempt has been made to carve them 

 into the representation of an animal object. 



The especially noteworthy features of Nicaraguaii pottery are its 

 brilliant and elaborate poly chromic designs, the symmetry of the jars 

 and vases, and the fine polish of the external surface, which in some 

 cases might easily be mistaken at first sight for a glaze. These char 

 acteristics were well brought out in the display at Madrid. Another 

 peculiarity is the evident liking of the native potters to mold objects 

 of amusement, such as whistling jars, musical instruments, etc., out of 

 clay, bringing their art in this respect into analogy with that of Peru. 

 Arch geologists in the United States have been made familiar with 

 these traits by the excellent study of Dr. J. F. Bransford, published 

 by the Smithsonian Institution. 1 



THE DEPARTMENT OF COSTA RICA. 



The Eepublic of Costa Eica presented a rich collection of specimens, 

 many of them recent acquisitions and all of them admirably arranged 

 under the intelligent administration of Senor Mannel M. de Peralta, 

 envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary of his Government, 

 and Mr. Anastasio Alfaro, director of the National Museum of Costa 

 Eica, who had superintended many of the excavations of the objects. 



The collection in general embraced several special collections belong 

 ing to individuals, besides that sent by the National Museum of Costa 

 Eica. The first was one obtained by Bishop Thiel, whose works upon 

 the native languages of that country are well known to students of these 

 subjects. 



An interesting feature of this collection was a series of small images 

 in gold, eighteen in number, weighing in all 282 grams. Several of 

 them represented the human figure in whole or in part; others were 

 figures of birds, frogs, and ornaments. Of greater antiquarian interest 

 than these were the vases in stone. One of them, measuring in height 

 a meter and a quarter, showed three symbolic animals united together. 

 Another, a bird belonging to the owl species, holding in its beak a figure 

 of a man. This is supposed to be a symbol of the creation, the bird 

 representing the primeval power which placed man upon the surface of 



Archaeological Researches in Nicaragua, by J. F. Bransford, M. D., United States 

 Navy, Washington, 1881. 



