Rita Moreno in West Side Story
West Side Story is one of the most popular musicals in American theater history. Jerome Robbins was the director and choreographer. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics and Leonard Bernstein the music for the story based on William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Rita Moreno, center, was one of the stars in the 1961 film version that won 11 Academy Awards.
Credit: AP/Wide World

People in the United States observe National Hispanic Heritage Month each year from September 15 to October 15. During this period, Latin American countries celebrate their independence. These countries include Cuba, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua.

Iconic, talented, and always fashionable, Rita Moreno belongs in the spotlight! Moreno is a Puerto Rican -born actress, singer, and dancer who has won acclaim on the stage, in motion pictures, and on television. Moreno became the first Hispanic actress to win an Academy Award. She won the 1961 award as best supporting actress for her performance as the girlfriend of a Puerto Rican-born New York City gang leader in the musical West Side Story. She also won a 1975 Tony Award as best supporting actress for her performance in the musical The Ritz. She didn’t stop after becoming the first Latina EGOT winner. Only 16 other people have the honor of being called an EGOT, the elite group of artists who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony awards.

Rosita Dolores Alverio was born in Humacao, Puerto Rico, on Dec. 11, 1931. She moved to New York City with her mother at the age of 5, and she soon started dance lessons. Moreno began working in motion pictures in the 1940’s, using her voice to dub Spanish-language versions of American films. She made her Broadway debut in 1945 at age 13 in the play Skydrift. She took the stage name Rosita Moreno from the last name of her stepfather, then later shortened her first name to Rita.

In addition to minor TV and movie roles in the 1950’s, Moreno danced with star Gene Kelly in the motion picture Singin’ in the Rain (1952) and portrayed an unhappy young Burmese woman given to the king as a “gift” wife in The King and I (1956). She also had a notable role as a prostitute in the film Carnal Knowledge (1971). Her other films include Summer and Smoke (1961), Popi (1969), and The Ritz (1976), in which she repeated her Tony Award-winning role.

Moreno was a regular performer from 1971 to 1977 on the Public Broadcasting Service children’s educational TV program “The Electric Company.” In 1972, she received a Grammy Award for her contribution to the show’s soundtrack album. She also received Emmy Awards for her guest appearance on the TV variety series “The Muppet Show” in 1977 and for her performance on an episode of the detective series “The Rockford Files” in 1978.

From 1994 to 1998, Moreno provided the voice of Carmen Sandiego, a world-famous thief, on the animated TV series “Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?” She was a regular performer from 1997 to 2003 on the cable television prison drama “Oz” as Sister Pete, a nun who works as a psychological counselor to inmates. In 2017, Moreno began acting on the television situation comedy “One Day at a Time,” an update of the popular series of the same name that aired from 1975 to 1984. In 2013, she published a memoir, Rita Moreno. Moreno became a Kennedy Center Honoree in 2015. Moreno starred in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake of West Side Story, as a newly developed character named Valentina.

The Tony Awards are given annually to recognize achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at a ceremony in New York City.
Tony Award Production

After its longest shutdown, Broadway reopened in New York in September 2021. The Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of theaters in March 2020. Many Broadway productions relied on government funding to return to the stage. As a result, fewer musicals, plays, and revivals were eligible for the 2021 Tony Awards.

Moulin Rouge! won the most awards of any show of the night. Of its 10 Tony Awards, Moulin Rouge! brought home best musical. The musical had performances for seven months before the Covid-19 shutdown.

The Inheritance won best play. With The Inheritance, Matthew Lopez became the first Latino writer to win best play. Lois Smith won best-featured actress in a play as The Inheritance‘s sole female actor. At age 90, Smith became the oldest performer to win a Tony Award for acting.

A Christmas Carol became the first play to win best original score. All five nominees for the award were plays.

A Soldier’s Play won best revival of a play.  

Slave Play made history with a record 12 nominations. Despite its nominations, Slave Play was shut out of any awards.

The Tony Awards are presented annually for distinguished achievements the previous season in the Broadway theater in New York City. The awards are named for Antoinette Perry, an American actress, producer, and director. They are administered by the League of American Theaters and Producers and the American Theater Wing.

The Tonys honor achievements in about 20 categories, including best new play, best new musical, and best revivals of a play and a musical. Tonys are awarded for acting, directing, designing, orchestrations, and choreography. Special awards are also made for lifetime achievements in the theater and to a distinguished American regional theater.

A Tony Awards committee appoints a group of theater professionals to select four nominations for each category. Several hundred theater professionals and journalists then vote on the winners. Winning a Tony, or even being nominated for the award, has become important to the box-office success of many Broadway shows. The Tony Awards were founded in 1947.

February 17, 2020

Last week, on February 11, Siba, a luxuriously black three-year-old standard poodle, pranced proudly after earning the coveted Best in Show award at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City. With a storied history of over 140 years, the show is highly anticipated every year. Beginning last Saturday, more than 200 canine breeds and varieties competed in the initial round of judging, but only one could be “top dog.”

Siba, the standard poodle named Best in Show, competes in the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 11, 2020. (credit: Photo by Johannes EISELE / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images)

The Westminster Kennel Club of New York City holds the most prestigious dog shows in the United States. The shows have been held annually since 1877. That year predates the invention of the automobile, the airplane, and the television; the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial; and baseball’s first World Series. Since Westminster’s first show, 12 states have joined the union. Westminster even predates the establishment of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club (AKC), which was founded in 1884. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second longest continuously held sporting event in the United States. Only the Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, has been staged longer.

Kennel clubs in many countries sponsor dog shows. At these competitive events, dogs are evaluated on their physical appearance and behavior. In the United States, the AKC regulates most dog shows, and dogs must be AKC-registered to compete. The club maintains official descriptions of each dog breed called breed standards. Breed standards include such details as the size and shape of the dog’s body and the color and texture of its coat. Other characteristics include temperament, type of movement, and how the coat must be trimmed. Judges award points based on how closely an animal meets the breed standard.

In an all-breed dog show, judges first select the best member of each recognized AKC breed. These dogs then compete against one another to be chosen best in each of the seven major groups of dogs. From these seven dogs, the judges name the overall champion as Best in Show. The most coveted award in the dog show world, Best in Show at Westminster was given for the first time in 1907.

The Westminster Dog Show includes multiple events over four days. This year, a Shetland sheepdog named Conrad won the herding group. Bourbon, a Whippet, represented the hound group. The toy group was won for the second-straight year by Bono, a Havanese (the national dog of Cuba). Daniel, a golden retriever and the crowd favorite in the final competition, won the sporting group. Wilma, a boxer, repeated as the working group winner. The terrier group champion was Vinny, a wire fox terrier. Siba, representing the non-sporting group, was the fifth standard poodle to win Best in Show, and the first since 1991. Miniature poodles have won three times and toy poodles twice. Wire fox terriers have more Westminster Best in Show titles (15) than any other breed.

The Westminster Dog Show also includes the Masters Agility Championship, won by a border collie named Pink; the Masters Obedience Championship, won by Heart, a Labrador retriever; and a youngster named Johnathon Wehry claimed the Best Junior Handler prize (for kids aged 9-17) for guiding his cocker spaniel, Jagster.

August 2, 2019

Yesterday, August 1, was the 200th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated United States author Herman Melville, in 1819. Melville ranks among the major authors of American literature. He wrote Moby-Dick, one of the world’s great novels, and his reputation rests largely on this book. But many of his other works are literary creations of a high order—blending fact, fiction, adventure, and symbolism. Melville’s vast personal experience in faraway places was remarkable even in the footloose and exploratory world of the 1800′s. Melville brought to his extraordinary adventures a vivid imagination and a philosophical skepticism, as well as a remarkable skill in handling the evolving American language. Melville was born in New York City. He died there, too, on Sept. 28, 1891.

Herman Melville was born 200 years ago on Aug. 1, 1819. Credit: Library of Congress

A number of events are marking Melville’s 200th birthday anniversary in 2019. In June, the Melville Society hosted a commemorative conference called “Melville’s Origins” at New York University. In Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the Berkshire Historical Society is celebrating “Melville at 200” August 1 to 4 with the unveiling of a memorial plaque, a marathon reading of Moby-Dick, and events at Melville’s farm, Arrowhead (where Melville wrote Moby-Dick and other works). In Philadelphia, The Rosenbach museum’s exhibition “American Voyager: Herman Melville at 200” will display the author’s manuscripts, first editions, and whaling artifacts from October 2 through April 5, 2020.

This illustration from an early edition of Moby-Dick depicts the fearsome white whale. Credit: Public Domain

Melville lived his first 11 years in New York City. In 1831, his family moved to Albany, New York. Melville worked a variety of jobs before sailing to Liverpool, England, in 1837 as a cabin boy on a merchant ship. He described this trip in his novel Redburn. Melville returned to America and signed on as a seaman on the newly built whaling ship Acushnet for a trip in the Pacific Ocean. From this trip came the basic experiences recorded in several of his books, and above all, the whaling knowledge he put into Moby-Dick.

Melville sailed from New Bedford, Massachusetts, on Jan. 3, 1841. He stayed on the Acushnet for 18 months. After the ship put in at Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas Islands, he and a shipmate deserted. The two men headed inland until they came to the lovely valley of the Typees, a Polynesian tribe with a reputation as fierce cannibals. But the natives turned out to be gentle, charming hosts. Melville described his experiences with them in Typee.

Melville lived in the valley for about a month. He then joined another whaling ship, but he soon deserted it with other sailors in a semimutiny at Tahiti. After a few days in a local jail, Melville and a new friend began roaming the beautiful and unspoiled islands of Tahiti and Moorea. Melville described his life during these wanderings in the novel Omoo.

After short service on a third whaling ship, Melville landed at Hawaii, where he lived doing odd jobs. On Aug. 17, 1843, he enlisted as a seaman on the U.S. Navy frigate United States. He recounted his long voyage around Cape Horn in the novel White-Jacket. Melville arrived in Boston in October 1844. He was released from the Navy and headed home to Albany, his imagination overflowing with his adventures.

Melville wrote about his experiences so attractively that he soon became one of the most popular writers of his time. The books that made his reputation were Typee (1846); Omoo (1847); Mardi (1849), a complex allegorical romance set in the South Seas; Redburn (1849); and White-Jacket (1850).

Melville then began Moby-Dick, another “whaling voyage,” as he called it, similar to his successful travel books. He had almost completed the book when he met fellow author Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne inspired him to radically revise the whaling documentary into a novel of both universal significance and literary complexity.

Moby-Dick; or The Whale (1851), on one level, is the story of the hunt for Moby Dick, a fierce white whale supposedly known to sailors of Melville’s time. Captain Ahab is the captain of the whaling ship Pequod. He has lost a leg in an earlier battle with Moby Dick, and he is determined to catch the whale. The novel brilliantly describes the dangerous and often violent life on a whaling ship, and it includes information on the whaling industry and a discussion of the nature of whales. On another level, Moby-Dick is a deeply symbolic story. The whale symbolizes the mysterious and complex force of the universe, and Captain Ahab represents the heroic struggle against the limiting and crippling constrictions that confront an intelligent person.

Melville’s popularity began to decline with the publication of his masterpiece. The novel, either ignored or misunderstood by critics and readers, damaged Melville’s reputation as a writer. When Melville followed Moby-Dick with the pessimistic and tragic novel Pierre (1853), his readers began to desert him, calling him either eccentric or mad. The public was ready to accept unusual and exciting adventures, but they did not want ironic, frightening exposures of the terrible double meanings in life.

Melville turned to writing short stories. Two of them, “Benito Cereno” and “Bartleby the Scrivener,” rank as classics. But the haunting and disturbing question of the meaning of life that hovered over the stories also displeased the public. In 1855, Melville published Israel Potter, a novel set during the American Revolution (1775-1783). After The Confidence-Man (1856), a bitter satire on humanity, Melville gave up writing.

Melville worked as deputy inspector of customs in the Port of New York from 1866 until his retirement in 1885. He then began writing again. He died in 1891, leaving behind the manuscript of Billy Budd, Sailor. This short novel, first published in 1924 and considered Melville’s finest book after Moby-Dick, is a symbolic story about the clash between innocence and evil and between social forms and individual liberty.

The 1920′s marked the start of a Melville revival among critics and readers. By the 1940′s, Americans at last recognized his literary genius. His reputation has since spread throughout the world and continued to grow.

June 28, 2019

Today, June 28, is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Stonewall uprising, which took place in New York City in late June and early July 1969. The uprising consisted of a series of demonstrations for gay rights. A police raid at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood, triggered the uprising. Following the raid, bar patrons and other supporters began a series of riots that lasted, on and off, for several days. The Stonewall uprising was an important event in the modern gay rights movement. The movement later came to be called the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights movement.

The Stonewall National Monument was dedicated on June 27, 2016. Credit: U.S. Department of the Interior

A number of commemorations and exhibitions are marking the Stonewall uprising’s 50th anniversary. In New York City, the world’s largest gay pride march, WorldPride NYC, is sharing its billing with “Stonewall50.” Events include a rally at the Stonewall Inn and walking tours of Greenwich Village led by the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project. New York University’s Grey Art Gallery, the Leslie-Lohman Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, the New York Historical Society, the New York Public Library, and the Brooklyn Museum are all hosting Stonewall Inn-themed exhibitions. Stonewall uprising events are also being celebrated at museums and LGBT pride events in Boston, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco, and other cities.

The rainbow flag has represented the gay community since 1978. Credit: © Natasha Kramskaya, Shutterstock

In the early morning of June 28, 1969, police officers entered the Stonewall Inn. The bar was a gathering place, especially for gay men and male cross-dressers. Cross-dressers are people who wear the clothing and take on the appearance of a different gender. Most gay bars in the United States at this time were often raided by police officers enforcing immoral conduct laws. Such laws punish behavior that a society considers to be indecent. In addition, many of the gay bars in American cities, including the Stonewall Inn, were owned by or had ties to organized crime.

However, on June 28, the officers closed the Stonewall Inn on the basis of an improper license to sell alcohol. Some patrons in the bar were arrested. Others resisted arrest. A number of patrons gathered outside and began a small protest against the police action. Some patrons and other people on the street claimed that the police were abusing patrons. The crowd grew larger as more people gathered to watch the police activity. Some people threw coins, rocks, and other items at the police.

A riot began as a portion of the Stonewall Inn was set on fire. Many members of the crowd chanted “gay power,” and some people destroyed nearby property. It took several hours for the police to end the riot. However, violent protests erupted around the Stonewall Inn for the next few days.

The Stonewall uprising was an important part of the change happening in the gay rights movement at the time. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, the gay rights movement grew in numbers and strength. Gay rights activists created new organizations and developed political strategies still used today. The anniversary of the Stonewall uprising is commemorated every summer as part of gay pride celebrations in the United States. In 2000, the U.S. Department of the Interior designated the Stonewall Inn and the surrounding streets a national historic landmark. In 2016, U.S. President Barack Obama designated the Stonewall Inn as a national monument, making it the first official National Park Service monument to honor the LGBT equality movement. For more on the Stonewall uprising, see the biography of Marsha P. Johnson, an African American LGBT rights activist.

In the United States, June is celebrated as LGBT Pride Month. Throughout June, cities across the nation host concerts, festivals, colorful parades, parties, and other events that honor the identity, contributions, and historical impact of LGBT people.

March 29, 2019

Yesterday, March 28, was the first fully scheduled day of the 2019 Major League Baseball season. As bats and balls connected across the United States and Canada, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City celebrated the national pastime with a special exhibit: “Baseball at The Met.” The exhibit, which runs until August, features the enduring art and charm of nearly 140 years of baseball trading cards.

“Baseball at The Met” includes this baseball card of Pepper Martin, who played 13 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1928 to 1944. Credit: Pepper Martin, St. Louis Cardinals (1933), commercial lithograph from Delong Gum Company (Boston); The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection/Metropolitan Museum of Art

The main attraction of “Baseball at The Met” is the baseball card portion of the museum’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection. Burdick (1900-1963), an electrician in Syracuse, New York, collected more than 300,000 pieces of popular art during his lifetime. Aside from baseball cards, Burdick saved advertisements, post cards, posters, and other forms of popular art. His collection is a significant part of The Met’s ephemera—things intended for temporary use that survive as collectable art—and it helps illustrate the history of popular printmaking in the United States.

Burdick donated his valuable collection of more than 30,000 baseball cards to The Met. The cards represent the most comprehensive public collection outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The Met’s exhibition highlights some 100 cards that date from baseball’s early days in the 1880′s to the “golden age” of the 1950′s. The cards depict baseball legends through illustration, lithography, photography, and early three-dimensional holography.

This uncut sheet of 1941 baseball cards, part of The Met’s Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, includes popular players of the era: “Eddie” Miller, Max West, “Bucky” Walters,”Duke” Derringer, “Buck” McCormick, Carl Hubbell, “The Horse” Danning, “Mel” Ott, “Pinky” May, “Arky” Vaughan, Debs Garms, “Jimmy” Brown. Credit: Uncut sheet from the Play Ball, Sports Hall of Fame series (1941), commercial lithograph from Gum, Inc. (Philadelphia); The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection/Metropolitan Museum of Art

The first baseball cards were intended for adults. They were used as advertising inserts—along with cards of actors, Civil War heroes, and politicians—by tobacco companies beginning in the 1880′s. The first chewing gum baseball cards aimed at kids did not appear until the Goudey Gum Company’s first series in 1933. By the 1950′s, kids across the United States were collecting baseball cards, and the hobby was nearly as popular as the game itself.

In 1951, Topps, the largest baseball card producer, introduced a 52-card deck of playing cards featuring baseball’s most popular players. The following year, Topps created a 407-card set sold in packets of five (ensuring tradable “doubles”), along with a semi-petrified stick of gum, for 5¢. Today, those penny cards can have astronomical value: a mint-condition (flawless) Mickey Mantle rookie card from that set sold for $2.9 million in 2018. (Mantle’s card is not the priciest on record, however. A 1909 card of Pirates great Honus Wagner sold for $3.12 million in 2016.) Like all collectibles, baseball cards have higher value if they are rare, and they must be in excellent condition.

In 1992, Topps dropped gum from the menu and concentrated solely on its lucrative market in baseball (and other sports) cards. Other major baseball card producers since the 1950′s have included Bowman, Donruss, Fleer, Panini, and Upper Deck. Beyond The Met, baseball cards are displayed in fans’ homes across the United States, and baseball card shows and conventions continue to be popular events.

February 15, 2019

With a storied history of over 140 years, the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City is highly anticipated every year. Beginning last Saturday, more than 200 canine breeds and varieties competed in the initial round of judging, but only one could be “top dog.” On February 12, the appropriately named King, a wire fox terrier, pranced proudly after earning the coveted Best in Show award.

King, a wire fox terrier, proudly paws the Best in Show trophy at the conclusion of the 143rd Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City on Feb. 12, 2019. Credit: © Lev Radin, Shutterstock

The Westminster Kennel Club of New York City holds the most prestigious dog shows in the United States. The shows have been held annually since 1877. That predates the invention of the automobile, the airplane, and the television; the building of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Lincoln Memorial; and baseball’s first World Series. Since Westminster’s first show, 12 states have joined the union. Westminster even predates the establishment of the governing body of the sport, the American Kennel Club (AKC), which was founded in 1884. The Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show is the second longest continuously held sporting event in the United States. Only the Kentucky Derby, first run in 1875, has been staged longer.

Kennel clubs in many countries sponsor dog shows. At these competitive events, dogs are evaluated on their physical appearance and behavior. In the United States, the AKC regulates most dog shows, and dogs must be AKC-registered to compete. The club maintains official descriptions of each dog breed called breed standards. Breed standards include such details as the size and shape of the dog’s body and the color and texture of its coat. Other characteristics include temperament, type of movement, and how the coat must be trimmed. Judges award points based on how closely an animal meets the breed standard.

In an all-breed dog show, judges first select the best member of each recognized AKC breed. These dogs then compete against one another to be chosen best in each of the seven major groups of dogs. From these seven dogs, the judges name the overall champion as Best in Show. The most coveted award in the dog show world, Best in Show at Westminster was given for the first time in 1907.

The Westminster Dog Show includes multiple events over four days. This year, a Bouvier des Flandres named Baby Lars won the herding group. Burns, a longhaired Dachshund, represented the hound group. The toy group was won by a Havanese (the national dog of Cuba) named Bono. Colton, a schipperke, represented the non-sporting group. Bean, a Sussex spaniel, won the sporting group. The working group winner was Wilma, a boxer. And the terrier group champion was the Best in Show winner, King. Wire fox terriers have won Best in Show at Westminster more times (15) than any other breed.

The Westminster Dog Show also includes the Masters Agility Championship, won by a border collie; the Masters Obedience Championship, won by a Labrador retriever; and the AKC Meet the Breeds event that allows people to interact with more than 100 different dog breeds and—surprise!—more than three dozen breeds of cats.

September 26, 2018

On Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018, American singer, songwriter, and guitarist Paul Simon ended his final tour with a concert at Flushing Meadows Corona Park near his boyhood home in Queens, a borough of New York City. Simon is retiring from touring, but denies he will stop making music or the occasional live appearance. The farewell concert, titled “Homeward Bound—the Final Performance,” featured a 26-song set and an appearance by his wife, singer Edie Brickell. Simon, who will turn 77 in October, made little mention of his former singing partner, Art Garfunkel, with whom he formed one of the most popular folk-rock groups of the 1960′s. Simon has had a successful solo career since the 1970′s.

Paul Simon, left, teamed with his childhood friend Art Garfunkel, right, to form Simon and Garfunkel, one of the most popular folk-rock groups of the 1960′s. Simon ended his final concert tour with a show in New York City on Sept. 22, 2018. Credit: © Pictorial Press/Alamy Images

Simon and Garfunkel first billed themselves as Tom and Jerry, and in 1957 recorded a minor hit titled “Hey, Schoolgirl” while they were still in high school. Simon and Garfunkel made their popular breakthrough in 1965 with the success of the folk-rock version of their song “The Sounds of Silence.” Simon wrote almost all their material, including the hits “Mrs. Robinson” (1968) and “Bridge over Troubled Water” (1970).

Simon and Garfunkel separated in 1970. Simon’s major solo success of the 1970′s was the album Still Crazy After All These Years (1975). Simon reunited with Garfunkel in 1981 for a concert in New York City’s Central Park. It was recorded as an album and inspired a reunion tour. In 1986, Simon released the acclaimed album Graceland, which he made with black South African musicians. In the 1990′s, he turned to Brazilian music for inspiration. In 2011, Simon released the album So Beautiful or So What. Simon wrote the music for the Broadway show The Capeman (1998). Simon was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 with Art Garfunkel and in 2001 as an individual performer. Paul Frederic Simon was born on Oct. 13, 1941, in Newark, New Jersey.

March 7, 2018

Last week, on February 28, an exhibition of artwork of the ancient Americas opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Called “Golden Kingdoms: Luxury & Legacy in the Ancient Americas,” the exhibition features the arts of the Aztec, the Inca, and other pre-Columbian cultures of Mexico and Central and South America. American Indian art created before A.D. 1500 is called pre-Columbian because it was produced before Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492.

The Golden Kingdoms exhibition includes this burial mask recovered from an ancient site known as Dos Cabezas on the northern Pacific coast of Peru. The gilded copper mask features eyes inlaid with shell and violet stone. The mask covered the face of a young man–no doubt someone of significance–wearing gold nose ornaments (see image below). Credit: Burial mask (A.D. 525–550), gilded copper, shell, and stone; Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan, Perú; Christopher B. Donnan/Metropolitan Museum of Art

Gold working in the ancient Americas began in the Andean cultures of South America and later developed farther north in Mesoamerica (what is now Central America and Mexico). Gold—considered an earthly remnant of the divine sun—and other precious metals were used more for decoration and ritual than for currency, tools, or weapons. Fine arts in the ancient Americas often connected people to ancestors, to the natural world around them, and to the gods and legends of their individual mythologies. Decorative objects were also used used in games and music and to celebrate fine harvests or rites of passage.

The Golden Kingdoms exhibition pays particular tribute to gold working. However, it also shows numerous works of bronze, copper, and silver, as well as precious objects made of cinnabar, jade, malachite, sea shell, turquoise, and feathers—materials often considered more valuable than gold. Noble textiles and fine pottery are also featured in the exhibit, which explores how materials were selected and transformed into art, what gave the objects meaning, and how they were used in sacred rituals.

These nose ornaments on display at the Met were found beneath the burial mask seen above. The deceased young man wore a rectangular gold ornament with a silver border. The hammered gold owl was compressed and placed in his mouth. The other ornaments depict a bat and a monkey. Credit: Clockwise from top left: Nose ornament (A.D. 525–550), gold and silver; Nose ornament (A.D. 525–550), Gold; Nose ornament (A.D. 525–550), Gold and stone; Nose ornament (A.D. 525–550), Gold; (Museo de Sitio de Chan Chan, Perú/Christopher B. Donnan/Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The Met exhibition features more than 300 works of newly discovered archaeological finds as well as established masterpieces from museums in Europe, Latin America, and the United States. Objects on display include bells, belts, collars, masks, and various forms of jewelry. “Golden Kingdoms: Luxury & Legacy in the Ancient Americas” runs through May 28.