Accession Number

1986.008.0869a

Alternate object names

Ebony Bead

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

Ebony. Top and bottom shaped with holes drilled in top and side for rosary. One of five beads. See also 1986.008.0869b--e.
 

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):

Rosary Beads
Ebony (c.1620)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.0869a-d, 1986.008.2282b-c, 1986.008.2945 1986.008.2947a,b, 1986.008.2949a,c,d, 1986.008.2950a,c,d l986.008.2951b-h

Large beads like these were most probably part of the oversized rosaries used by monks and other clerics.
Previous Exhibit Case Caption: Removed 2022. OBJECTS OF FAITH All those traveling aboard the 1622 galleons likely would have traveled with their personal religious objects. These objects of faith may have been their only spiritual comfort during the terrifying storm that tragically ended their lives. Recovered from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha Gift of Jamestown Treasure Salvors, Inc. Rosary & Rosary Beads Rosaries were an important part of the Catholic practice, and the word ‘rosary’ refers to both a series of meditative prayers and to the string of beads used to count them. These ebony rosary beads would have been an inexpensive but durable choice of material. The gold chain once held rosary beads between the links, but they disintegrated during their long immersion in salt water.