Accession Number

1986.008.0629

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

A round-bottomed, deep-dished basin with a flat rim is a rare pewter vessel from Atocha. A single bead runs around the underside of the rim, and two corroded marks are on the topside. One mark is a crowned Tudor rose - a common device used to denote English export wares, and goods of a higher quality. The other mark is an “H” that has been altered to a personal device. This is a common phenomenon seen on other items found on the 1622 ships, most notably silver bars, where a person’s initials were used to construct a monogram and served as a shipping mark. Unfortunately, this “H” mark cannot be tied to a particular passenger or crewmember.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

COUNTING CARGO

Jacopo de Vreder was the silver master aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. It was his job to make certain that the cargo was accurately accounted for, royal duties on it were collected, and that everything, including the passengers and the goods that they were transporting, was safely stowed. His written manifest traveled with the ship, but a copy would sail aboard another vessel, so that his record would get to Spain, even if his ship did not.

De Vreder recorded the silver bars individually and stamped each one with his initial, “V.” Other cargoes were listed by weight.

The inventory included:
Silver Bars – 1038, 30 tons, about 70lbs each
Silver Coins – about 200,000, loaded in chests
Gold Bars, Bits and Discs – 161, with a total weight of 3,462 oz.
Copper Ingots – 582, totaling 15 tons
Silverware – 1,200 lbs.
Tobacco – 525 bales, about 25 tons
Indigo – 350 chests
Object Caption (2023):

Basin
Pewter (c.1610)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0629

A rare pewter vessel from Nuestra Señora de Atocha bearing two marks. One mark is a crowned Tudor rose—a common device used to denote English export wares of a higher quality. The other mark is an “H” that has been altered to a personal logo. Unfortunately, this “H” mark cannot be tied to a particular passenger or crewmember.