Accession Number

1986.003.0001

Creation Date

circa 1600

Description

Cast silver. Raised on a square flange applied with four tapering conical finials and a central spool-form standard with an openwork globe surmounted by a knopped tapering finial. Note: This finial originally surmounted an elaborate domestic incense burner, or sahumidor.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

RELIGIOUS DEVOTIONS

Spain’s empire was won by conquest and the Spanish believed that their laws, leaders, and the Roman Catholic religion were superior to Indigenous customs, rulers, and spiritual practices.

Priests came to provide emigrants with spiritual support but also to convert Indigenous people. They hastened conversions by asserting that Jesus and the Virgin Mary were bigger, better manifestations of local gods. The Virgin Mary was quickly identified with Pachamama, the goddess of the earth. In 1532, the church that became Lima Cathedral was built on top of a major shrine to Inti, the Inca sun god and the palace of an Inca prince. The Spanish used this suppressive strategy successfully throughout their colonies.
Object Caption (2023):

Incense Burner Finial
Silver (c.1600)
Gift of Mel and Dolores Fisher
1986.003.0001

This finial originally surmounted an elaborate domestic incense burner.