Accession Number

1994.005.0001

Description

A small bronze medal provides an example of an inexpensive devotional object possibly owned by a working-class passenger aboard the Atocha. The obverse depicts La Immaculada (the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception) her hands clasped in prayer, head encircled with a crown of stars – a symbol of immortality – and standing in a crescent moon – a symbol of her purity. The scene is surrounded by a knotted Franciscan cord, the belt worn by monks to signify being their bound to Christ. The reverse of the medal is inscribed with the letters “IHS”, a widely used Catholic monogram for first three letters of Christ’s name in Greek (ΙΗΣΟΥΣ); a device popularized by the 15th-century Franciscan disciple Saint Bernardine of Siena. The Christ child stands above the IHS, surrounded by rays of light, holding an orb in one hand, a symbol of his dominion. Below the letters are three intertwined arrows.

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):

Religious Medal
Bronze (c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1994.005.0001

This inexpensive devotional medal depicts the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception. It was probably owned by a working-class passenger or a sailor aboard the Atocha.
Previous Object Caption: Removed 2022 Pendant Inscribed on this bronze pendant are the letters “HIS”, likely representing the name of Christ. Above the letters. A figure surrounded by rays of light holds an orb in one hand. At the bottom, three intertwined arrows symbolize the Jesuit Order. The opposite side of the pendant shows the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception.