Title

Silver torque

Anónimo castellano

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Material

Technique

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

The pre-Roman treasures of Palencia are a set of three treasures of unquestionable beauty and value discovered throughout the 20th century, and made up of gold and silver jewelry, as well as denarii. These treasures, called I, II and III, were not discovered by archaeological work, so it is difficult to know the context of the pieces to carry out a complete study of them. The studies reveal that the Palencia treasures present unique characteristics, with decorative and formal elements that show their own identity. This suggests the existence of a specific jewelry tradition in the North Castilian Plateau. In addition, the predominance of the use of silver over gold links them more closely to the Iberian productions of the Arrabalde (Zamora), Padilla de Duero (Valladolid), Monasterio de Rodilla (Burgos) and El Raso de Candeleda (Ávila) sites, than to those of the Castros Culture of the northwest of the peninsula (Rodríguez and Castro, 2012).

We will focus on the so-called Tesoro 1 of Palencia, preserved in the Hispanic Society of America. It was discovered on April 30, 1911 during the construction of the railroad that connected Palencia with Villalón de Campos, near the Carrión River in an enclave called Puente del Hierro (Iron Bridge). The pieces were inside an earthenware vessel, covered by a conical silver cup that was damaged during excavation. They date between the middle of the 2nd century and 72 B.C., as suggested by the studies and the denarii found next to them. The treasures were hidden for safety, possibly during the sieges of Palencia in the 2nd century BC and the wars of Sertorius (80-72 BC), the latest date for their concealment (Codding 2017, 88).

Francisco Simón Nieto acquired the jewels, retaining one torques in his personal collection and selling the rest to the French antiquarian Feuardent brothers. Subsequently, Archer Huntington, founder of the Hispanic Society, bought these pieces from them on October 8, 1912 (Rodríguez and Castro, 2012). The collection is made up of a total of twenty-two gold, silver, and electro objects, including four bracelets, six torques, three bracelets, two fibulae, four earrings, two hair ornaments, and a conical cup (Codding 2017, 87).

In a general analysis of the jewelry found in Palencia, the torques or rigid necklaces stand out, with about thirty specimens recorded. These pieces are divided into two broad categories: funiculars, made with several twisted wires, and those composed of a single rod. Within the former, some could form part of any Iberian treasure from the Upper Guadalquivir, including simpler examples and others that feature central decorations, such as a Hellenistic Hercules knot or a discreet "8" design. However, two particular designs predominate: those incorporating "loops" and those ending with acorn-shaped finials (Rodríguez and Castro, 2012).

The torques with loops, which also appear in single-rod models, have one or three of these elements distributed along their structure and are practically exclusive of the treasures found in Palencia. On the other hand, those with acorn ends stand out for their construction with three or four thick wires curved in the form of a rope, complemented with twisted drawn wires. These pieces are easily recognizable by their large size, significant weight (some in Palencia reach 700 grams) and the detail of hiding the knotted ends under decorative finials (Rodríguez and Castro, 2012).

The uniqueness of this last design lies in the combination of characteristics of Iberian goldsmithing -such as the twisted silver rods- with elements typical of the Castros Culture of the Northwest, such as the acorn-shaped finials. This type of torques is found almost exclusively in the Northern Subplateau, especially in Palencia and Arrabalde. Furthermore, reinforcing the connection with Castrian jewelry, predominantly gold, is the particular case of a bulky silver torques from the Palencia treasure, preserved in the Hispanic Society, which combines gold knobs in a bimetallic design, although technically not funicular, but chain or mesh (Rodríguez and Castro, 2012).

Description

Torques were rigid neck ornaments made mainly by beating sheets of metal, usually silver or sometimes gold, which were then progressively bent to form hollow tubes or solid cords molded by forging. These pieces were symbols of prestige and power, often associated with warriors and tribal leaders, and in some cultures they were attributed a protective or mystical character. The torques combined structural simplicity with a high symbolic charge, which made them essential elements in the clothing of the elites (Bandera Romero, 1986).

This torque is made with smooth rods intertwined with wires that gradually decrease in thickness from the central part towards the ends. The terminals are pyriform in shape and have rings at the ends, designed to hold a chain, now missing, which would allow the piece to be closed. On the inner surface, near the center, there is an incised mark consisting of an oblique line accompanied by a symbol that could be interpreted as an arrow, composed of a triangle and a straight line emerging from its base (Codding 2017, 88).

Locations

• II B.C. - 1911

  province

  Palencia, Palencia (Spain)

• 1911 - 1912

  private collection

  Francisco Simón y Nieto, Palencia (Spain) *

• 1912

  dealer/antiquarian

  Feuardent Frères, Paris (France) *

• 1912 - 1930

  private collection

  Archer Milton Huntington, New York (United States) *

• 1930 - present

  museum

  The Hispanic Society of America, New York (United States)