Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Museo de Metales Preciosos
Jaén 777 • Tues-Fri 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • Except for the
Museo de Instrumentos
Musicales de Bolivia
,
all the municipal museums are accessed on a single ticket, only sold at the Museo Cos-
tumbrista Juan de Vargas; Bs4
Next door to the Museo Litoral, the
Museo de Metales Preciosos
has a small but impressive
hoard of Inca and Tiwanaku gold and silver ornaments, housed in a steel vault. The delicate
skill evident in the work - everything from gold-encrusted stone pipes and thimble-like cups
to gold disc-embroidered ponchos and funerary masks - makes it obvious why these indigen-
ous artisans were so quickly enrolled into producing religious artwork by the Spanish.
Museo Casa de Murillo
Jaén 790 • Tues-Fri 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • Except for the
Museo de Instrumentos
Musicales de Bolivia
,
all the municipal museums are accessed on a single ticket, only sold at the Museo Cos-
tumbrista Juan de Vargas; Bs4
Inside the sumptuous mansion which was once the home of the venerated independence mar-
tyr after whom it's now named, the
Museo Casa de Murillo
houses an eclectic collection
ranging from colonial religious art, furniture, ceremonial
keru
cups, and portraits of former
presidents, to artefacts used in witchcraft and miniatures from past
Alasitas fiestas
.
Museo de Instrumentos Musicales de Bolivia
Jaén 711 • Daily 9.30am-6.30pm • Bs5 • 02 2408177
Set around yet another pretty colonial courtyard on Jaén, the delightful
Museo de Instru-
mentos Musicales de Bolivia
is home to an astonishing variety of handmade musical instru-
ments from all over Bolivia, some of which you can play with in-house lessons at compet-
itive rates (Bs50/hour, for charango,
guitarra
,
zampoña
or quena; enquire at reception). A
labyrinth of rooms kicks off with a collection of pre-Columbian pipes, nose flutes, wood and
stone
oscarinas
and music-related ceramics. This is followed by a plethora of the
stringed
instruments
- guitars, violins, mandolins and charangos - which were introduced by the
Spanish, and eagerly seized upon by an indigenous population who quickly combined these
two elements to create the distinctive Andean music of today.
Mostinteresting,however,arethe
percussion and wind rooms
,cramminginmaracas,bells
and shells; toucan beaks; strange little leather trumpets; and wonderful palm-leaf
bajones
from San Ignacio de Moxos. Further chambers feature an array of Bolivian-invented instru-
ments (many of them created by the museum's famous, charango-playing founder, Ernesto
Cavour) including a chamber pot
tambor
, a saxophone-like quena and, for real Spinal Tap-
esque overload, a five-necked charango. A collection of old concert posters, articles, scores
and vinyl complete the tour.
Museo Tambo Quirquincho
Plaza Alonso de Mendoza • Tues-Fri 9.30am-12.30pm & 3-7pm, Sat & Sun 9am-1pm • Bs1
