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| Keywords: Calima - Emerald Bead - Walters 2009209 - View A.jpg Exotic commodities were coveted throughout ancient Colombia by those enjoying elevated social and political status Rare items made so by their scarcity their having come from a long distance or unusual physical properties such as color or transparency signified the owner's control over resources and people Some commodities also exemplified mythical or spiritual properties and thus were particularly potent possessions to be displayed as emblems of status and power Emeralds come from the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes Mountains which dominate western Colombia the region divided south-to-north by the impressive Magdalena River Emeralds' scarcity rich and transparent green color and symbolic association with fertility transformed the stone into a potent object of prestige and authority Beads made from lightly worked emeralds many of considerable size adorned the bodies of important individuals throughout Colombia and were coveted among other societies in Panama and Costa Rica a few even finding their way as far north as Mesoamerica AD 500-800 Yotoco emerald cm 4 8 3 5 3 2 accession number 2009 20 9 80164 Ron Messick Fine Arts Santa Fe New Mexico date and mode of acquisition unknown John G Bourne 1990s by purchase Walters Art Museum Gift of John Bourne 2009 place of origin upper Cauca River Valley Walters Art Museum license Pre-Columbian art in the Walters Art Museum Calima culture Beads Emeralds without parageneses | ||||
