The Jade Museum has been one of the top must-see cultural institutions in San Jose, Costa Rica for years. And now, it’s likely going to surge even higher on list of things to do in this Central American nation, as the organization prepares to debut a brand-new, U.S.$21 million facility that will — for the first time ever — allow the museum to display every single one of the artifacts that make up its impressive collection.
The sparkling new home of the Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina — the Museum of Jade and Pre-Columbian Culture — officially opens its doors on May 26, 2014. But during my most recent visit to Costa Rica to attend Expotur, the nation’s annual tourism convention, I got a sneak peek at the new facility, housed in an eye-catching piece of architecture that was designed to evoke the shape and texture of jade itself. It’s hard to miss this new, five-story architectural landmark, which is conveniently close to many other attractions in downtown San Jose, next to Plaza de la Democracia.
The new museum space — which measures more than 75,000 square feet — is so large that it will allow the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (the National Insurance Institute, which operates the Jade Museum) to exhibit the entire collection for the first time in history. Nearly 7,000 pieces — including jade, ceramics and stone artifacts that date to a period from 500 B.C. to 1500 A.D. — will be on view when the doors open to the public.
A large, colorful painting by César Valverde Vega, one of Costa Rica’s most important artists of the 20th Century, hangs in the entrance, which leads visitors into a soaring atrium flanked by five floors of exhibit space. The museum is fascinating not just for its artifacts, but also for the insight it provides into the culture and traditions of the pre-Columbian residents of Central America. Among the highlights:
• 1st Floor: The exhibit hall called Sala Umbral focuses on the cultural and ecological foundations of the societies that produced jade.
• 2nd Floor: Sala Jade highlights the process of jade production, as well as the routes that jade followed through Central America.
• 3rd Floor: Two exhibit halls on the third floor focus on different themes: Sala El Día on daytime activities, including hunting, fishing and agriculture, and Sala La Noche on the night and topics associated with the “dark side,” including war and death.
• 4th Floor: The exhibit hall called La Memoria Ancestral showcases the importance of archeology, with clothing, music and utensils used by pre-Columbian peoples.
• 5th Floor: The Acopia Visitable (visitable collection) is a space where additional pieces from the museum are viewable in enclosed cases, allowing the public to appreciate the full collection, including pieces that didn’t make it into the themed exhibit halls.
Since I visited before the museum actually opened, the preview photos I took for this exclusive report were made with flash, in exhibit areas with bright maintenance lighting, rather than the appropriate exhibit lighting. But it’s still easy to see how great the new venue looks.
The new space will be open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm.
MORE INFO ABOUT TRAVEL TO COSTA RICA: Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (Costa Rican Tourism Institute)
MORE COSTA RICA TRAVEL TIPS:
• Top 5 Things To Do in Costa Rica
• “My Costa Rica” — United Airlines’ Fred Thome on Must-See Costa Rica, & 7 Great Hotels