Portal House Provincial Museum

Art museum located in the city of Ambato in central Ecuador, dedicated mainly to show pieces of art made from flowers or other types of techniques typical of this region of Ecuador.
Portal House Provincial Museum
Photo by Verónica Chavéz
Type: Art Museum
Country:
Ecuador
Establishment: 2003

The Portal House Provincial Museum (Spanish: Museo Provincial Casa del Portal) is an art museum located in the city of Ambato in central Ecuador, dedicated mainly to show pieces of art made from flowers or other types of techniques typical of this region of Ecuador.

History

The building was designed by architect Antonio Ruso and its construction was completed around 1930.[1] Its construction was made after the use of pishilata stone obtained from the quarry located in Pelileo, is one of the buildings of the Historic Center Ambato that is characterized by having an architecture of republican style that was developed in the country during 1820 to 1950.[2]

Additionally, it is one of the few buildings in Ambato that survived the earthquake of 1949. In 2003 the building was formally converted into a public museum.[3] In October 2022, the museum launched an exhibition about numismatics, showing samples of Ecuador's former currency, the Sucres.[4]

In March 2019, an art exhibition was organized within the museum in celebration of the Ambato's Fruit and Flower Festival (Spanish: Fiesta de la Fruta y de las Flores), this exhibition was based mainly on the creation of sculptures with the use of flowers for the representation of mythological beings, among them is the exhibition of a dragon made based on typical flowers of Ecuador such as chrysanthemums, carnations, lilies and roses.[5]

Collections

The museum has different rooms dedicated to the exhibition of archaeological material found near Ambato, in addition to exhibitions of oil paintings, as well as photographic exhibits showing the past of the city of Ambato and the history of the Tungurahua Volcano.[6]

Museo Provincial Casa del Portal Image 1
A horse sculpture built of flowers (2018) - Photo by Gino Rosero
Museo Provincial Casa del Portal Image 2
Several pottery exhibits about the contributions of the Inca Community in the development of Ambato (2022) - Photo by Killian Bault

References

  1. Miranda, J. O. (2017). Ambato: Un baúl de recuerdos históricos. Boletín Academia Nacional de Historia, 96(198), Article 198. ISBN: 2773-7381 (Page 318) (in Spanish)

  2. Patrimonio cultural, historia y expresiones artísticas. (2022-08-13). El Heraldo. (in Spanish)

  3. La Casa del Portal, principal escenario cultural de Ambato. (2017-07-07). El Telégrafo. (in Spanish)

  4. Exposición de monedas y billetes antiguos se realizará en Ambato. (2022). La Hora. (in Spanish)

  5. Maisanche, F. (2019-03-01). La exposición ‘Mitología Floral’ se muestra en la Casa del Portal por las fiestas de Ambato. El Comercio. (in Spanish)

  6. La Casa del Portal es un importante centro cultural. (2015-11-22). El Telégrafo. (in Spanish)

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