Plate Fragment Physical Object
Accession Number
1986.008.0733Creation Date
circa 1620Description
30 % intact. Gray glaze with blue design. Design is of the Maltese cross whose eight points symbolize the eight virtues of the knights: loyalty, piety, generosity, courage, modesty, contempt of death, helpfulness towards the poor and helpless, and respect for the church. Glaze is flaking in several places.Dimensions
14.7 x 14.7 x 4.3 cm
Weight: 151.62 grams
Exhibition Label
Case Caption (2023):
The Sword and the Cross
In 710, Arabs conquered the Spanish peninsula, uniting its small kingdoms under
their rule. By the 1100s, Spain’s Christian kings were organizing successful resistance.
To encourage new leaders, they founded four military-religious orders of knighthood: Santiago, Calatrava, Alcantra, and Montesa. Even after they succeeded in driving out the last Muslims in 1492, membership in an order of knighthood remained both a religious and martial honor. Each order of knighthood had a specific style of cross associated with it. Members of each order proudly displayed these symbols, embroidered on their clothes or decorating their possessions.
Object Caption (2023):
Plate
Majolica (c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0733
The admiral who died aboard the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, don Pedro Pasquier de Esparza, was a knight of Calatrava. This plate fragment features the Maltese cross often used by that order. The eight points of the cross symbolize the eight virtues of the knights: loyalty; piety, generosity; courage; modesty; contempt of death; helpfulness towards the poor and helpless; and respect for the church.