Accession Number

1986.008.0007a

Alternate object names

Reliquary Box;Lidded Container;Box;Container

Creation Date

circa 1600

Description

This oval, pewter canister with a conforming, molded cap contained an emerald and gold pectoral cross (1986.008.0005) and a gold and emerald ring (1986.008.0006). It may be speculated that this grouping was intended to be a gift for Pope Gregory XV, who was head of the Catholic Church from 1621-1623. At the top of the canister is an inscribed “ABL” monogram, perhaps for Gregory’s given name, Alessandro Ludovisi. Ludovisi was the son of Count Pompeo Ludovisi and Camilla Bianchini, and the initials would then be derived from of his first name, along with the maternal and paternal surnames. Or the monogram could also derive from Alessandro Ludovisi da Bologna, a name he was sometimes called, which referred to his city of birth. Reliquaries of this typical capped-oval form have been in use since the mid-Fifth Century and were often elaborately chased and repousse around the sides with fashionable Christian symbols.

Exhibition Label

Case/Object Caption (2023):

Cross And Ring
Gold with emeralds and traces of enamel (Colombia, c.1620)
Gifts of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0005, 1986.008.0006

Reliquary Box
Pewter (c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0007a-b

This magnificent cross might have been destined for a high-ranking member of the Spanish court. However, both cross and ring were discovered on the wreck site of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha inside this reliquary. Possibly the box and its contents were intended to be a gift for the Pope, Gregory XV. The box bears his initials, ABL, Alessandro Boncampagni Ludovisi, who died in 1623.

The saint depicted on the back of the cross is most likely St. Anthony of Padua. Decorations feature tropical fruit such as coconuts, pineapples, and mangoes, indicating that this cross was made in the Americas by an Indigenous craftsman. The emeralds on both cross and ring are from Colombia’s Muzo mines.