As to its pecuniary value, the archaeological exhibit of Costa Rica
has been appraised at ^50,000. But these precious relics of the
primitive inhabitants of the country would never be sold for any



COSTA RICA AT THE ■WORI;d'S FAIR.
49



amount of money, as they constitute a treasure, highly valuable,
each object representing, as it does, a part of the unwritten history
of important races that are no more.
The collections, arranged by the same commissioner of archeology,
Seiior Don AnastasioAlfaro, director of the National Museum of Costa
Rica, to whom we are indebted for this information, were exhibited
last year, 1892, in Madrid, Spain,.and they there obtained as awards
six first-class medals. Seiior Alfaro was also presented with honor-
able decorations.
EXPENSES, EXHIBITORS, JUDGES, AWARDS.
The expenditures of the exhibition in the Costa Rican Pavilion, includ-
ing the cost of the building, service and transportation, exceeded.... $100,000

And the installation of the section of archaeology , at the Anthropological
Building, service and transportation included, cost 10,000



Total amount |it 0,000

All the expenses were defrayed by the Government, both on ac-
count of the character of the exhibition, consisting, as we have seen,
mainly of natural products, and the desire to encourage the greatest
possible number of individual exhibitors. The circumstances already
referred to, namely the impending danger of cholera, and the conse-
quent uncertainty as to the possibility of holding the Exposition at all,
made the total number of exhibitors much smaller than it would
otherwise have been.
According to the official catalogue of the "World's Columbian Exposi-
tion, the number of the Costa Rican exhibitors was 363. Apart from
the Government, however, the number of individual exhibitors was,
in fact, only 141, some of the exhibitors being represented in several
different groups.
