Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art Museum

Address: Bandera 361, Santiago, Región Metropolitana, Chile

Website: https://www.precolombino.cl

Hours: Tue-Sun 10:00am-6:00pm, closed Monday

Admission: CLP 5,000 (~$6) adult; discounts for students/seniors; children often free

The Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art is a museum in central Santiago that presents material culture from pre-Hispanic societies across the Americas. The institution displays archaeological and ethnographic objects spanning Mesoamerica, the Andes, Amazonia and Pacific islands.

Galleries are organised by cultural region and include textiles, ceramics, metalwork, stone sculpture and ritual objects, supported by explanatory labels and contextual displays. Temporary exhibitions and educational programmes supplement the permanent collection to explore themes in pre-Columbian art and society.

The museum was established in the late 20th century to house and interpret pre-Columbian collections for public study and display, occupying a restored historic building in central Santiago. Since opening it has developed both regional and international exhibition partnerships.

The museum is located in downtown Santiago within the city’s historic core, making it accessible by public transport and close to other cultural institutions in the centre of the capital.

• Collection scope: The museum’s holdings encompass collections from across the Americas, presenting objects from Mesoamerica, the Andes, Amazonia and Pacific islands in both permanent and rotating exhibitions.

What to See#

• Mesoamerica Gallery: Mesoamerica Gallery displaying ceramics, sculpture and ritual objects from central and southern Mexico and Central America.
• Andean Gallery: Andean gallery showing textiles, metalwork and religious items from pre-Columbian Andean cultures.
• Pacific and Southern Cone Galleries: Pacific and Southern Cone displays including objects from Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Chilean pre-Hispanic cultures.

From Santiago’s Plaza de Armas, it’s a 6-10 minute walk north along Calle Bandera to number 361. Metro: Plaza de Armas station (Line 5) or La Moneda (Line 1) are within a 10-15 minute walk. Several city buses stop along Ahumada and nearby Avenida Libertador Bernardo O’Higgins.

• Enter through the Bandera Street entrance; it deposits visitors closer to the pre-Columbian galleries than the administrative façade.
• Start on the second floor: the galleries are arranged thematically, and the flow there avoids the heaviest crowds.
• Don't skip the small gallery of colonial-era objects - the juxtapositions often provoke the sharpest insights.