Accession Number

1986.008.0015

Alternate object names

Devotional pendant;Medallion

Creation Date

circa 1600

Description

A gold medallion from the wreck of the 1622 galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha is the only item from the site to bear a likeness of the ship’s namesake. Nuestra Señora de Atocha (Our Lady of Atocha), or the Atocha Virgin, is the oldest patron Saint of Madrid and for centuries has been regarded as the protector of the royal families. She holds the infant Jesus in one arm, while extending an apple, a symbolic gift to the world, in the other. This 3-centimeter-tall medallion was suspended from a chain and appears to have one been adorned with jewels (likely pearls) suspended by gold wires. It is not known who on the doomed galleon owned this piece.

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):

Devotional Pendant Gold (c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0015

This pendant was found on the wreck site of the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. It depicts the ship’s namesake Our Lady of Atocha. She is the oldest patron saint of Madrid and was regarded as the protector of the royal family. It was once adorned with jewels (likely pearls) suspended from gold wires.
Previous Exhibit Case Caption: Removed 2022 Pendant This gold pendant depicts Our Lady of Guadalupe who is typically represented inside a halo surrounded by rays of light. On the back is a cross. In 1531, near Mexico City, an Indian experienced a vision of “a holy lady’ who identified herself as the mother of Christ. Before this events, Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed Serpent, was the main god of the Maya, Aztec, Toltec, and nearly every other formative Mexican culture. Between 1531 and 1538, almost 9 million Native Mexicans converted to Catholicism, inspired by this vision. Guadalupe’s message is of love and compassion for all peoples and her name means “Serpent Destroyer.” Many miracles are associated with her and her shrine is the second most visited Catholic site after the Vatican.