In Spanish Museo del Jade, its more formal Museo del Jade y de la Cultura Precolombina (Museum of Jade and Pre-Columbian Culture) better describes its mission. Even my Costa Rican coworkers call it The Jade Museum – yes, their collection of jade art and artifacts is extensive – more galleries are dedicated to pre-Columbian work than the Jade. I did not expect that and was very surprised once I move to the upper-floor galeries.
The museum is at the east end of the Avenida Central pedestrian mall, just before reaching the Plaza de la Democracia.
The Museum
The museum is located in a modern building custom-built to be an art museum. There exhibits span multiple floors with, on most floors, a gallery on either side of the atrium, and different floors and galleries have different foci.
Jade
As one would expect based on the museum name, there is plenty of jade art on display: the two first-floor galleries are almost totally dedicated to their Jade collection. Though you’ll find jade pieces in the upper-floor galleries, usually story of pre-Columbian culture in this part of Latin America, the main collection is in these galleries.
Though you would expect quality pieces in a museum dedicated to jade, the variety of usage was perhaps more impressive: small art pieces, jewelry, weapons (though whether actually useful as weapons is unknown), plaques, table settings, and more.
Pre-Columbian Culture
The museum’s upper floors focus on the pre-Columbian era of Costa Rica, shown through art and artifacts of that time period.
Many of the artifacts displayed were intended to be educational and not necessarily objet d’art: excellent craftsmanship, at times stunningly beautiful and yet with other purposes. Educating children about being an adult, especially the sexual aspect, was of major importance.
Each major area had lengthy descriptions describing what was being shown, and many of the individual pieces were labeled with at least a name, and often more. It was somewhat stunning, as it went on and on and on. It would have taken hours to read everything.
National Institute of Seguros
In Spanish, Instituto Nacional De Seguros, also known as INS, is a state-owned art collection that is managed and protected by the museum. There are some works scattered throughout the museum which are somewhat out-of-place with the overall mission of the museum. The bronzes (below) are beautiful but are neither jade or pre-Columbian. Fortunately, the collection’s art is on display rather than being warehoused and never seeing the light of day.
Temporary Exhibits
As do most museums, the Jade Museum has temporary exhibits that change regularly. The exhibit during our visit is about Costa Rican farmers and agriculture, entitled Stories of Mulleters and Bovines Towards Decarbonization (at least that’s the Google-translated name). Plenty of interesting pictures.
Final Thoughts
An impressive museum with an impressive collection, well-curated and well-presented in a building with good traffic flow, easy to traverse the exhibits, read the descriptions, and not feeling overly crowded: our visit overlapped that of one (two?) large groups of middle-school or high-school aged students. Though for the most part the students were respectful, they are teens and having fun; nevertheless, they really did not distract from our visit.
Another positive aspect is their English translations that allowed my wife and I to better understand what we were seeing. Internationally it can be hit-or-miss on whether there are (in my case) English translations, and the quality of those translations. Definitely not an issue, it really helps us enjoy the visit.
Overall, a top-notch museum and obvious while my Costa Rican co-workers highly recommended it.
Logistics
Web Site: https://museodeljade.grupoins.com/
Address: 13 bis, y, Av. Central, San José Province, San José, Costa Rica, you’ve passed it if you reach Plaza de la Democracia
Hours: https://museodeljade.grupoins.com/informacion/
- Monday through Sunday, 8:00am – 5:00pm
- Closed January 1, May 1, August 15, December 25
Entrance Fee:
- Foreign Nations: Adults $16, Students $5, Children 6-12 $2
- Costa Rican Nationals/Residents: Adults ₡3000, Students ₡1200, Children 6-12: ₡1200
English: Most placards were both Spanish and English, including the temporary exhibit
Recommended Visit Length: 1.5-2 hours, depending on your fascination with the pre-Columbian culture exhibits.
Appropriate For Children: no interactive exhibits, lots of small items that they can’t touch or play with, though teenagers will enjoy some of the sexual-oriented content.
Image Credits
All images © 2024 Scott C Sosna
