1665

Gold pendant with diamonds and emeralds, ex-Tolosa (1724), Borrell Plate, Smithsonian Plate.

Currency:USD Category:Artifacts / Shipwreck Artifacts Start Price:30,000.00 USD Estimated At:35,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD
Gold pendant with diamonds and emeralds, ex-Tolosa (1724), Borrell Plate, Smithsonian Plate.
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Gold pendant with diamonds and emeralds, ex-Tolosa (1724), Borrell Plate, Smithsonian Plate. 20.08 grams. 43.86mm x 34.03mm x 5.42mm. The importance of this dazzling medallion pendant cannot be overstated, both in its own time as either a reliquary or the formal neck badge of a Spanish holy order, and in modern times as a published relic from a once highly publicized shipwreck salvage from 1979. The late 16th/early 17th century design in high-karat gold (XRF-tested at 21K) consists of a central oval medallion within a thick scrollwork frame containing eight emeralds (four on each side) and eleven table-cut diamonds. The central medallion, held in place by four prongs, was probably previously enameled with a portrait or scene and/or housed a religious relic. The scrollwork is free of cracks and in normal condition for its age, with a slight front-to-back bend at top that may have been original, although there is compression of the central gold bezels and noticeable trauma to the emeralds, which are set from both sides of the piece. The very rare table-cut diamonds are intact and show only minor abrasions and bearding on the edge of some of the table facets, overall in remarkable condition for the age.

While a piece like this is normally construed as a reliquary, we note that its design is almost identical to a ca.-1700 enameled badge of the Holy Order of the Inquisition shown on page 117 of Jewels in Spain 1500-1800, by Priscilla Muller (1972). Furthermore, as related in the Borell books in which the present piece is photographed, it was found along with a diamond-encrusted Order of Santiago medallion and many pearls (necklaces, no doubt), in addition to other similar jewels and the remains of a wooden box (note the book tallies only half the emeralds by considering the front and back stones to be one and the same, which they are not, and also note that the previously misshapen jump-ring at top has been professionally straightened). Either way, it is logical to speculate that these pieces were the possessions of a Spaniard noble, perhaps even royalty.

It goes without saying that the salvage of the "Quicksilver Galleons" Guadalupe and Tolosa was a major archeological highlight of 1979, which also saw the publication of a National Geographic article by the Smithsonian's Mendel Peterson about the find, including a photo of some of the jewels and pearls found with this piece. While that article did tabulate the amount of lives lost, unfortunately we cannot locate a passenger list that could give clues as to this fabulous jewel's 18th-century owner. Quoting the Smithsonian (Dudnick) book in which this piece is also pictured (note the accurate emerald count, by the way): "Who was the owner of the pendant decorated with eight emeralds and twenty-two diamonds, and why was he going on such a voyage?" In any event, his loss was our gain, and now we are honored to be able to auction this unique and highly important published piece that will surely be a major trophy in its next owner's collection. From the Tolosa (1724), found April 11, 1979, by diver Tony Armstrong, aboard the salvage vessel Hickory, as described in the book The Quicksilver Galleons, by Pedro Borrell (1984), on page 106 of which this piece is photographed, also pictured on page 117 of Borell's 1983 book Arqueología submarina en la República Dominicana (2nd ed.), and on page 30 of Treasure of the Quicksilver Galleons, by Susan Dudnick Boer (Smithsonian, 1982), accompanied by a copy of the December 1979 issue of National Geographic containing the article "Graveyard of the Quicksilver Galleons," by Mendel Peterson, and Sedwick photo-certificate.