Hummingbirds, Armadillos, and Fish - Oh My!

Hummingbird pendant, Olmec, 800–400 BC
Dallas Museum of Art

To our delight, we discovered that the Dallas Museum of Art is open again and immediately reserved tickets for the next available time — which was last Sunday.

There's never been a better time to see the art, what with limited numbers admitted for social distancing.

We headed up the stairs near the entrance and found ourselves in a spot we'd never come across — Arts of the Americas. This wound up being ancient art from South America, Central America, and Mexico. There were even a few things from North America, but not many.

We found it surprisingly absorbing, especially when I came across several hummingbird depictions that were thousands of years old. I look at the fierce little hummer who is keeping all the others away from our nectar and love the idea that he's the latest in a migration that has been going on so long.

And there was another familiar figure.

Armadillo ornament, Veraguas, 800–1200 AD
Dallas Museum of Art

And, of course, ear ornaments so large that I'd rather wear one as a necklace.

Ear ornament, Zenú (Sinú), 600–1200 AD
Dallas Museum of Art

There also were large, elaborate panels from buildings and a lot of things that only really impress if you see them in person. We realized that a lot of the oldest pieces were contemporaneous with ancient Egypt and that helped put the art in perspective too.

This bit of the visit began our theme day, though we didn't realize it at the time. More on that later ...