DEVOTIONAL SILVER PENDANT. 17-18TH CENTURIES.

Cross reliquary. Silver, transparent glass. 17th-18th century Devotional pendant made of silver and shaped like a Latin cross, decorated on the outside with simple scrolls, spikes, pearls and other classic-inspired elements, as well as a ring to wear the jewel hanging from the neck. The front has seven oval holes (the one located where the largest arms cross) protected with transparent glass; The back is smooth, with the material in its color. Typologically, there are similar examples of Portuguese origin, made of rock crystal and protected by silver bands, without scrolls and other decorations, dated between the 16th and 17th centuries, preserved in separate private collections. This jewel shows profiles with much more movement than these two, although the motifs and simplicity of the lines respond to classicist influences. This type of jewelry had great value for its owners, both for the materials they were made from and for its content, considered sacred and protective. Despite this high value (or precisely because of it), few examples of good quality and in good condition have reached us. There are medallions similar to the present one only in some important institutions such as the Fundación Valencia de Don Juan in Madrid, the National Museum of Decorative Arts (Madrid), the Lázaro Galdiano (Madrid), the Museum of Popular Beliefs and Religiosity of the Aragonese Pyrenees (Abizanda, Huesca), the Metropolitan Museum (New York), etc. And in prominent religious institutions such as the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela or the Convent of the Descalzas Reales in Madrid.

· Size: 6,5x10 cms.