دانلود کتاب The Gold of El Dorado

For four hundred years or more the Gold of El Dorado has been a legend. A legend, for most of us perhaps, it has remained. I suspect that many people would have to admit, as I do, that they still have little knowledge of the life-style of ancient Colombia or of the extraordinary achievements of its craftsmen in gold.Now, thanks to the imagination, scholarship, energy and generosity of many helpers in many lands, building on the suggestion of Mr George Rainbird and with the active interest of Sir Denis Hamilton, The Royal Academy — in partnership with Benson & Hedges and Times Newspapers Limited — is able to mount this spectacular exhibition of treasures from Colombia's early cultures. The objects on show are not confined to those of ritual ceremony: they include simple weapons, needles and cooking utensils, everyday domestic pieces to which everyone can immediately respond. Some of them are shown in re-created versions of their original settings — all of them beautifully designed and wrought.The Royal Academy is delighted to be in partnership with Benson & Hedges and Times Newspapers in this enterprise, and wishes to record its sincere appreciation of their full co-operation; and also for the invaluable support of His Excellency Iaime Garcia Parra, lately Colombian Ambassador in London (and now Minister of Finance), and his Minister Counsellor, Miss Nifion Millan, as well as that of our own Ambassador at Bogota, His Excellency Kenneth ]. Uffen, of Mr ]ohn Morgan, Head of Cultural Relations at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Viscount Montgomery of Alamein.The preparations for an exhibition of this scale and quality have taken years and have involved many people and organisations — scholars and experts, designers and administrators, government institutions and privateindividuals. To all of them The Royal Academy is as grateful as surely you will be when you have seen for yourself the splendours that lie spread before you.