Entre curiosidades del progreso nacional y objetos etnográficos, prácticas de colección en el Museo Nacional de Colombia a inicios del siglo xx

Abstract

This article analyzes the formation of the Museo Nacional de Colombia’s ethnographic collection during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It addresses two moments: collection processes related to commissions directed to natural resources exploration and road construction, and those springing from scientific and ethnographic purposes. Rather than establishing a periodization, these two moments serve as referents of different collection practices that resulted in the attribution of dissimilar museum values to ethnographic objects.