{"id":2579,"date":"2025-12-23T10:58:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T09:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/?page_id=2579"},"modified":"2026-03-02T07:43:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T06:43:56","slug":"invisible-artefacts","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/routes\/invisible-artefacts\/","title":{"rendered":"Invisible artefacts"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Routes<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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Invisible artefacts<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Guido Boggiani at the MUCIV – Museo delle Civilt\u00e0 – Roma<\/h2>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t
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Edited by Zelda Franceschi, Caterina Fidanza<\/strong> (University of Bologna)<\/h4>\n

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Scroll editing by Chiara Florise Amadei<\/strong> (CNR ISPC)<\/h4>\n

Revision & accessibility by Alfonsina Pagano<\/strong> (CNR ISPC)<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>
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This route explores the life, travels, and collecting practices of Guido Boggiani (1861\u20131901), painter, photographer, trader and one of the first professional collectors of ethnographic artefacts in the Gran Chaco region (Alto Paraguay and Mato Grosso).<\/p>\n

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Between 1888 and 1901, Boggiani assembled over 2,500 objects\u2014today preserved largely at MUCIV – Museo delle Civilt\u00e0 – Rome, including feather headdresses, ritual ornaments, ceramics, weapons, textiles and shamanic objects created by Yshir (Chamacoco), Kadiw\u00e9u and other Indigenous peoples.<\/p>\n

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The route unfolds in six thematic stages. It begins with Boggiani\u2019s biography as an artist-explorer navigating between aesthetic ambition, commercial enterprise and ethnographic curiosity. It then examines the formation of his \u201cgreat collection\u201d and its transfer to Rome, within a late-nineteenth-century context marked by scientific competition, colonial attitudes and the belief that Indigenous cultures represented a \u201cliving prehistory.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A central focus is the extraordinary feather art collection\u2014over a thousand pieces\u2014whose aesthetic brilliance concealed ritual, therapeutic and social meanings that Boggiani himself only partially understood. These artefacts were not mere ornaments but active elements in Yshir ceremonial life, especially within initiation rituals and shamanic practice.<\/p>\n

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The final sections shift the perspective to the present. Through recent fieldwork in Fuerte Olimpo (2024), photographs of the collection were shared with Yshir communities as a form of virtual restitution. Dialogues with elders and ritual specialists revealed layered memories, contested interpretations, and ongoing ethical questions: What does it mean to preserve, sell, exhibit\u2014or spiritually \u201creturn\u201d\u2014these objects today?<\/p>\n

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Explore the scrolling journey to learn more!<\/span><\/p>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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References<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>
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Works by Guido Boggiani<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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  • 1894, \u00abI Ciamacoco\u00bb. Conferenza tenuta in Roma alla Societ\u00e0 Geografica Italiana il 2 giugno 1894 ed in Firenze il 24 dello stesso mese\u201d, in Atti della Societ\u00e0 Romana di Antropologia, vol. 2, n. 1.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1895, <\/span>Viaggi di un artista nell\u2019America meridionale. I Caduvei<\/span><\/i> (Mbaya o Guaicur\u00fa), Roma, Ermanno Loescher.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1896b, <\/span>I Caduvei. Studio attorno ad una trib\u00f9 indigena dell\u2019Alto Paraguay del Matto Grosso (Brasile)<\/span><\/i>, Roma, Presso la Societ\u00e0 Geografica Italiana, vol. V, pp. 237-293.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1898, \u201cEtnograf\u00eda del Alto Paraguay\u201d, en <\/span>Bolet\u00edn del Instituto Geogr\u00e1fico Argentino<\/span><\/i>, vol. 18, n. 10-11-12, pp. 613-625.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1898a, \u201cEn favor de los indios Chamacocos\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto Paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, n. 11, pp. 168-183.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1899, \u201cCartograf\u00eda ling\u00fc\u00edstica del Chaco. Estudio critico sobre un articulo del dr. D.G. Brinton\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto Paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, n. 16, pp. 106\/137.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1899a \u201cFauna Paraguaya\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto Paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, n. 18, pp. 312-333; n. 19, pp. 14-21.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1900, \u201cCompendio de Etnograf\u00eda Paraguaya Moderna. I. Los Toba\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto Paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, n. 23, pp. 22-26<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1900a, \u201cCompendio de Etnograf\u00eda Paraguaya Moderna. II. Los Machicui\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto<\/span><\/i> Paraguayo, n. 25, pp. 141-144 e n. 27 pp. 145-189.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1900b, \u201cCompendio de Etnograf\u00eda Paraguaya Moderna. III. Los Chamacoco\u201d, in <\/span>Revista del Instituto Paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, n. 29, pp. 190-206.<\/span><\/li>\n
  • 1929, <\/span>Vocabolario dell\u2019idioma ciamacoco (apuntes p\u00f3stumos de Guido Boggiani, compilados y redactos por \u010cestmir Loukotka)<\/span><\/i>, Buenos Aires, Anales de la Sociedad Cient\u00edfica Argentina, pp. 149-175 e 227-241. <\/span><\/li>\n
  • 2018, \u201cViaggi d\u2019un artista nell\u2019America meridionale: I Sanapan\u00e1\u201d, in Braunstein et al. (eds.), Sanapan\u00e0<\/i>, Scotts Valley, Create Space, pp. 43-201.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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    Critical bibliography<\/h4>\n\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
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      \n
    • AA. VV., 2008, <\/span>Cat\u00e1logo del Museo de Arte Ind\u00edgena<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Centro de Artes Visuales\/<\/span>Museo del Barro.<\/li>\n
    • AA. VV., 1985, <\/span>L\u2019art de la plume Br\u00e9sil<\/span><\/i>, G\u00e9neve, Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Ethnographie de G\u00e9neve.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Bigoni F., Dantini M., Roselli M.G., 2010, \u201cGuido Boggiani e Paolo Mantegazza: lo sguardo dell\u2019artista e la ricerca dell\u2019antropologo\u201d, in <\/span>Archivio per l\u2019Antropologia e la Etnologia<\/span><\/i>, vol. 140, pp. 33-51.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Bigoni F., Roselli M.G., 2014, \u201cQuattro secoli di collezionismo del Museo di Firenze raccontano la storia dei popoli nativi del Sudamerica\u201d, in Moggi Cecchi J., Stanyon R. (a cura di), <\/span>Il museo di storia naturale degli Studi di Firenze. Le collezioni antropologiche ed etnologiche<\/span><\/i>, vol. V, Firenze, Firenze University Press.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Bossert F., Franceschi Z.A., Braunstein J. (\u00e9ds.), 2019, <\/span>Un artista en la Am\u00e9rica Meridional. Diario de los viajes por Argentina, Paraguay y Brasil (1887-1892). Guido Boggiani<\/span><\/i>, Buenos Aires, Asociaci\u00f3n Rumbo Sur \u2013 Ultratierra<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Cipolletti M.S., 2018, \u201cSignificados escondidos. Artefactos y aquello que se nos escapa sin un acercamiento \u00e9mico\u201d, in Kraus M., Ernst Halbmayer E., Kummels I. (Hrsg.), <\/span>Objetos como testigos del contacto cultural: perspectivas interculturales de la historia y del presente de las poblaciones ind\u00edgenas del alto r\u00edo Negro (Brasil\/Colombia)<\/span><\/i>, Berlin, IberoAmerikanisches Institut, pp. 305-318.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Ciucci L., 2013, \u201cChamacoco: breve profilo antropologico e linguistico\u201d, in <\/span>Quaderni del Laboratorio di Linguistica della Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa<\/span><\/i>, vol. 12.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Comb\u00e9s I., 2009,<\/span> Zamucos<\/span><\/i>, Cochabamba, Instituto Latinoamericano de Misionolog\u00eda.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Cordeu E.J.,1992, \u201cAishtuwente. Las ideas de deidad de la religiosidad chamacoco. Quinta parte (continuaci\u00f3n).\u201d, in <\/span>Suplemento Antropol\u00f3gico<\/span><\/i>, vol. 27, n. 2, pp. 167-301.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1997, \u201cLa religione degli indios chamacos o ishir\u201d, in Sullivan L.E. (a cura di), <\/span>Culture e religioni indigene in America centrale e meridionale<\/span><\/i>, Milano, Jaca Book.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1999, <\/span>Los relatos de W\u00f6lk\u00f6<\/span><\/i>, Buenos Aires, Ciudad Argentina.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1999a, <\/span>Transfiguraciones simb\u00f3licas. Ciclos ritual de los indios tomar\u00e1xo del Chaco Boreal<\/span><\/i>, Quito, Abya-Yala.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Cordeu E.J., Braunstein J., 1974, \u201cLos aparatos de un sh\u00e1man chamacoco. Contribuci\u00f3n al estudio de la parafernalia sh\u00e1manica\u201d, in <\/span>Scripta ethnologica<\/span><\/i>, vol. 2, n. 2, pp. 121-139.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Cordeu E.J., De los Rios M., 1982, \u201cUn enfoque estructural de las variaciones socioculturales de los cazadores-recolectores del Gran Chaco\u201d, in <\/span>Suplemento Antropol\u00f3gico<\/span><\/i>, vol. 17, n. 1-2.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Escobar T., 1999, <\/span>La maldici\u00f3n de Nemur. Acerca del arte, el mito y el ritual de los indigenas ishir del gran Chaco paraguayo<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Centro de Artes Visuales Museo del Barro<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2010, Arte ind\u00edgena: zozobras, pesares y perspectivas, in Bovisio M.A., Penhos M. (\u00e9ds.), <\/span>Arte ind\u00edgena. Categor\u00edas, pr\u00e1cticas, objetos<\/span><\/i>, Cordoba, Editorial Brujas.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2012, <\/span>La belleza de los otros<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Servilibro.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2014, \u201cLa par\u00e1bola del \u00faltimo viaje\u201d, in <\/span>El c\u00edrculo imperfecto. Guido Boggiani: aproximaciones a la figura del viaje<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Museo del Barro<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2020, <\/span>Aura latente. Est\u00e9tica\/\u00e9tica\/pol\u00edtica\/t\u00e9cnica,<\/span><\/i> Asunci\u00f3n, Centro de Artes Visuales Museo del Barro.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Leigheb M. (a cura di), 1986, <\/span>Guido Boggiani. Pittore, esploratore, etnografo<\/span><\/i>, Regione Piemonte.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1997, <\/span>Lo sguardo del viaggiatore. Vita e opere di Guido Boggiani<\/span><\/i>, Novara, Interlinea Edizioni.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2014, \u201cGuido Boggiani, entre arte y ciencia\u201d, in El c\u00edrculo imperfecto. Guido Boggiani: aproximaciones a la figura del viaje, Asunci\u00f3n, Museo del Barro.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Leigheb M., Cerutti L. (a cura di) 1992, <\/span>Atti del Convegno Internazionale \u201cGuido Boggiani\u201d<\/span><\/i>, Banca popolare di Novara<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Lucchesi A., 1936, <\/span>Nel Sudamerica: Alto Paran\u00e0 e Chaco: 1875-1905<\/span><\/i>, Firenze, Bemporad\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Richard N., 2008, <\/span>Les chiens, les hommes et les \u00e9trangers furieux. Arch\u00e9ologie des identit\u00e9s indiennes dans le Chaco bor\u00e9al<\/span><\/i>, Ph.D. thesis, Paris, \u00c9cole des Hautes \u00c9tudes en Sciences Sociales<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2008a, \u201cLa muerte de Guido Boggiani. Cinco muertes y una cr\u00edtica de la razon artesanal\u201d, in AA. VV., <\/span>Cat\u00e1logo del Museo de Arte Ind\u00edgena<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Centro de Artes Visuales\/Museo del Barro, pp. 75-88<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2011, \u201cLa querelle des noms. Cha\u00eenes et strates ethnonymiques dans le Chaco bor\u00e9al\u201d, in <\/span>Journal de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 des am\u00e9ricanistes<\/span><\/i>, vol. 97, n. 3, pp. 201-230<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2011a, \u201cLa tragedia del mediador salvaje. Entorno a tres biograf\u00edas ind\u00edgenas del la guerra del Chaco\u201d, in <\/span>Revista de Ciencias Sociales<\/span><\/i>, vol. 20, pp. 49-80<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Scotti P, 1949, \u201cLa collezione etnografica sudamericana di Guido Boggiani. Parte IV: Toba e Pilag\u00e1, Lengua, Angait\u00e9, Sanapan\u00e1, Sapuk\u00ed, Guan\u00e1\u201d, in <\/span>Rivista di Biologia Coloniale<\/span><\/i>, vol. 10, pp. 67-73<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1946, \u201cLa collezione etnografica sudamericana di Guido Boggiani. Parte I: Caingu\u00e0, Guayak\u00ed-Payagu\u00e1\u201d, in <\/span>Rivista di Biologia Coloniale<\/span><\/i>, vol. 7, pp. 63-78<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1947, \u201cLa collezione etnografica sudamericana di Guido Boggiani. Parte II: I Caduveo\u201d, in <\/span>Rivista di Biologia Coloniale<\/span><\/i>, vol. 8, pp. 35-50.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1948, \u201cLa collezione etnografica sudamericana di Guido Boggiani. Parte III: I Ciamacoco e Tumanah\u00e1, in <\/span>Rivista di Biologia Coloniale<\/span><\/i>, vol. 9, pp. 93-108.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1951, \u201cIl contributo di Guido Boggiani alla geografia del Sud-America\u201d, in <\/span>Atti del XV Congresso geografico italiano<\/span><\/i>, Torino, pp. 79-800.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1955, <\/span>I contributi americanistici di Guido Boggiani. Saggio critico<\/span><\/i>, Genova, Libreria degli studi.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1963, \u201cGuido Boggiani (nel centenario della sua nascita)\u201d, <\/span>in Bollettino della Societ\u00e0 Geografica Italiana<\/span><\/i>, vol. 9, n. 4<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1963b, \u201cLettere inedite di Guido Boggiani\u201d, in <\/span>Atti dell\u2019Accademia Ligure di Scienze e Lettere<\/span><\/i>, vol. 20, p. 327-359<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1964, \u201cLa seconda spedizione di Guido Boggiani fra i Caduv\u00e9i (1897)\u201d, in <\/span>Archivio per l\u2019Antropologia e la Etnologia<\/span><\/i>, vol. 94, pp. 31-124<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1980, \u201cGli ultimi diari di Guido Boggiani\u201d, in <\/span>Atti dell\u2019Accademia Ligure di Scienze e Lettere<\/span><\/i>, Gvol. 37, pp. 336-372<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Susnik B., 1957, <\/span>Estudios chamacocos, Bolet\u00edn de la Sociedad Cientifica del Paraguay<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Museo Etnografico \u201cAndres Barbero\u201d.<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1969, <\/span>Mundo chamacocos I: cambio cultural, Asunci\u00f3n<\/span><\/i>, Museo Etnografico \u201cAndres Barbero\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1978, <\/span>Los aborigenes del Paraguay. Tomo I. Etnolog\u00eda del Chaco Boreal y su periferia (siglo XVI y XVIII)<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Museo Etnografico \u201cAndres Barbero\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 1982, <\/span>Los aborigenes del Paraguay. IV Cultura material<\/span><\/i>, Asunci\u00f3n, Museo Etnografico \u201cAndres Barbero\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Velthem Hussak Van, L., 1995, \u201cArte plumaria ind\u00edgena\u201d, in <\/span>Artesan\u00eda de Am\u00e9rica<\/span><\/i>, n. 46-47,pp 105-116<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2010, \u201cArtes Ind\u00edgenas. Nota sobre a logica dos corpos e dos artefatos\u201d, in <\/span>Textos escolhidos de cultura e arte populares<\/span><\/i>, vol. 7, n. 1<\/span><\/li>\n
    • 2012, \u201cO objeto etnogr\u00e1fico \u00e9 irredut\u00edvel? Pistas sobre novos sentidos e an\u00e1lises\u201d, in <\/span>Boletim do Museu Paraense Em\u00edlio Goeldi. Ci\u00eancias Humanas<\/span><\/i>, vol. 7, n.1, pp. 57-66<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Wilbert J., Simoneau K., 1987, <\/span>Folk Literature of the Chamacoco Indians<\/span><\/i>, Berkley, University of California Press-Latin American Center Publications<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Fri\u010d V., 1906, \u201cNotes on the mask-dances of the \u010camacoco\u201d, in Man, n. 77, pp. 116-119<\/span><\/li>\n
    • Fri\u010d P., Fri\u010dova Y., 1997, Guido Boggiani. Fotograf, Praha, Titanic<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Routes Invisible artefacts Guido Boggiani at the MUCIV - Museo delle Civilt\u00e0 - Roma Edited by Zelda Franceschi, Caterina Fidanza (University of Bologna)   Scroll editing by Chiara Florise Amadei (CNR ISPC) Revision & accessibility by Alfonsina Pagano (CNR ISPC) This route explores the life,...","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":1062,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[129],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2579","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry","category-routes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2579"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2579\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3208,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2579\/revisions\/3208"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.knotproject.it\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}