An Aztec stone skull, Maya glyphs and ancient gold keros (drinking vessels) †predating the Inca empire †are just a few of the rare and important objects that will be on view when the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County throws open a cache of centuries-old riches in a new behind-the-scenes exhibition, “Visible Vault: Archaeological Treasures of Ancient Latin America.”
Scheduled for completion on January 23, when its multimedia and online collections integration reaches completion, “Visible Vault” will present more than 700 objects from the museum’s archaeological collections representing ancient civilizations of the Americas, with objects from the Southwest United States, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Installed in a dramatically designed vaultlike space, which provides the experience of exploring archaeological collections ordinarily hidden from public view, the objects are grouped by region, immersing visitors in the breadth of material culture produced by the ancient peoples of each area.
“Visible Vault” provides a creative new means of access to one of the museum’s most important collections. It was designed by the Los Angeles-based firm of Hodgetts + Fung Design and Architecture, which developed a curved ceiling, industrial shelving systems and glass jewel-case enclosures.
Central to the design is a system of shelving that presents the archaeological collection of each region in the form of “back storage” where visitors may see objects carefully packaged in archival materials. In the forefront of the installation are highlighted display areas featuring 37 selected objects mounted in a more traditional manner, offering unobstructed viewer access.
Objects from many Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Teotihuacán, Toltec, Mixtec, Olmec, Zacatecas, Zapotec, Veracruz, Nayarit, Jalisco, Casas Grandes, Chupicuaro, Colima, Hohokam and Tarasco, are arranged along one side of the Visible Vault gallery, where they are anchored by artifacts from one of the region’s most famous civilizations, the Aztec.
The development of the new Visible Vault is part of the museum’s transformation of galleries, the creation of “behind-the-scenes” experiences and restoration of historic dioramas and halls. The museum is also involved in an $84 million project to restore and seismically strengthen its original 1913 Beaux-Arts inspired building. The project includes the installation of new exhibits in the Rotunda, which will reveal exquisite details that have been obscured over the years.
The newly designed galleries will open beginning in 2010. More than half of the museum’s total exhibit-related space will be renovated.
The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County is at 900 Exposition Boulevard. For information, 213-763-3466 or www.nhm.org .
