Top of page

Photo, Print, Drawing Group of Rocks with Hieroglyphs near Pandi, Province of Bogotá. Grupo de piedras cerca del pueblo de Pandi, con jeroglíficos de los indios, volteados hacia el Boqueron por donde se desaguo el antiguo lago de Fusagasuga, probablemente cuando cayo sobre el lago superior de Sumapax, cuya catastofe acaso descubrio el rio etonces subterraneo, sobre el cual esta el puente natural de Icononzo

About this Item

Title

  • Group of Rocks with Hieroglyphs near Pandi, Province of Bogotá.

Other Title

  • Grupo de piedras cerca del pueblo de Pandi, con jeroglíficos de los indios, volteados hacia el Boqueron por donde se desaguo el antiguo lago de Fusagasuga, probablemente cuando cayo sobre el lago superior de Sumapax, cuya catastofe acaso descubrio el rio etonces subterraneo, sobre el cual esta el puente natural de Icononzo

Summary

  • This watercolor by Manuel María Paz (1820--1902) depicts a scene in the province of Bogotá (present-day Cundinamarca Department), Colombia. The caption on the painting identifies the subject as a "group of stones near the town of Pandi, with hieroglyphs made by the Indians, facing the Boqueron, close to the old lake of Fusagasuga, probably when the upper lake of Sumapaz fell, which led to the discovery of an underground river, on top of which sits the natural bridge of Icononzo. It could be said that the Indians wanted to commemorate this remarkable event." Whether or not this explanation is correct, the petroglyphs were made by the Muisca people, who long inhabited this region. The watercolor is typical of Paz's work, which captured the diversity of the population of Colombia and depicted the daily activities and traditional customs of the country's different ethnic, racial, and social groups. Paz was born in Almaguer in the province of Cauca. He joined the Colombian army at a young age and showed exceptional skills as a cartographer and painter. In 1853 he took over the role of draftsman of the Comisión Corográfica (Chorographic Commission) formerly held by Henry Price (1819--63). The commission, which began work in 1850, was tasked with studying the geography, cartography, natural resources, natural history, regional culture, and agriculture of the Republic of New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama). Paz worked under Agustín Codazzi (1793--1859), the Italian-born geographer and engineer who co-founded and directed the commission. In 1859, at Codazzi's death, Paz was among the collaborators who took on the task of reviewing, completing, and publishing the work that the Comisión Corográfica had undertaken since 1850. As a draftsman, Paz executed watercolors and drawings that were very exact and strove to represent the places and people of Colombia in a naturalistic and objective style. These pictures constitute invaluable documentary records for the history and culture of Colombia. They also provided information pertinent to drawing up the maps that were one of the main objectives of the Comisión Corográfica. More than 90 paintings by Paz are preserved at the National Library of Colombia.

Names

  • Colombia. Comisión Corográfica Sponsor.
  • Paz, Manuel María, 1820-1902 Artist.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1855.

Headings

  • -  Colombia--Cundinamarca--Pandi
  • -  1855
  • -  Expeditions and surveys
  • -  Hieroglyphs
  • -  Indians of South America
  • -  Indigenous peoples
  • -  Muisca Indians
  • -  Regional Memory of the World Register, Scientific Memory of Andean America
  • -  Rock art
  • -  Rock formations
  • -  Rock paintings
  • -  Rocks

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Watercolor on paper ; 42 x 28 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: National Library of Colombia.
  • -  Content in Spanish.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Colección Comisión Corográfica

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670116

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

The Library of Congress is unaware of any copyright or other restrictions in the World Digital Library Collection. Absent any such restrictions, these materials are free to use and reuse. Researchers are encouraged to review the source information attached to each item. For information on contacting WDL partner organizations, see this archived list of partners

The Library asks that researchers approach the materials in this collection with respect for the culture and sensibilities of the people whose lives, ideas, and creativity are documented here.

Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

For additional information and contact information for many of the partner organizations, see this archived capture of the World Digital Library site from 2021.

For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Colombia. Comisión Corográfica Sponsor, and Manuel María Paz. Group of Rocks with Hieroglyphs near Pandi, Province of Bogotá. Cundinamarca Pandi Colombia, 1855. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670116/.

APA citation style:

Colombia. Comisión Corográfica Sponsor & Paz, M. M. (1855) Group of Rocks with Hieroglyphs near Pandi, Province of Bogotá. Cundinamarca Pandi Colombia, 1855. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670116/.

MLA citation style:

Colombia. Comisión Corográfica Sponsor, and Manuel María Paz. Group of Rocks with Hieroglyphs near Pandi, Province of Bogotá. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670116/>.