Chile Guide
El Norte Chico
Museo Arqueológico
Opening time: Tues– Fri 9.30am–5.30pm, Sat 10am–1pm & 4–7pm, Sun 10am–1pm
Price: CH$600, Sun free
Address: Cordovez and Cienfuegos
Entered through an imposing nineteenth-century portico, La Serena's Museo Arqueológico boasts two outstanding treasures, though most of the displays could do with improving.
First is its large collection of Diaguita pottery, considered by many to be among the most beautiful pre-Columbian ceramics in South America. The terracotta pieces, dating from around 1000 to 1500 AD, are covered in intricate geometric designs painted in black and white and, in the later phases, red. Starting with simple bowls and dishes made for domestic use, the Diaguitas went on to produce elaborately shaped ceremonial pots and jars, often in the form of humans or animals, or sometimes both, such as the famous jarros patos, or "duck jars", moulded in the form of a duck's body with a human head.
The museum's other gem is the giant stone statue, or moai, from Easter Island, "donated" to La Serena at the behest of President González Videla in 1952. Until recently it stood in a park on Avenida Colo Colo, covered in graffiti and urinated on by drunks. Then, as part of an exhibition of Easter Island art in 1996, it travelled to Barcelona, where it was accidentally decapitated. Tragedy turned to good fortune, however, when the insurance money from the accident paid for a brand-new sala to be built for the statue in the archeological museum. This is where you'll find it today, standing on a raised platform against a flattering azure backdrop, the joins at the neck hardly showing.