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Title

Pair of earrings. Possible Castiltierra provenance

Generic classification
Goldsmithing
Object
Earring
Date
ca. 550
Century
Mid 6th c.
Cultural context / style
Visigothic
Dimensions
1 7/8 x 1 3/4 in
Material
Silver
Technique
Hammered, Cast
Provenance
Visigothic Necropolis of Castiltierra (Castiltierra, Segovia, Spain)
Current location
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond, United States)
Inventory Number in Current Collection
68.55.2.1-2
Object history

From the late 1920s and early 1930s, numerous objects from the Visigothic necropolis of Castiltierra (Fresno de Cantespino, Segovia) began to appear on the market. The plundering was perpetrated mainly by some Castilterrans eager to make a fortune with the pieces, by the owner of the land and by Juan García Sánchez, who claimed to have discovered the site (Arias and Balmaseda, 2015). It is difficult to specify who was responsible for this piece leaving the country. Therefore, we put forward several hypotheses: first, we know that Félix Moreno, administrator of the estate, sent pieces to the owner of the land, who lived in Madrid. He was looking to make a lot of money from the find, so he contacted some dealers and antique dealers in Madrid to sell them the objects. On the other hand, we find a multifaceted figure such as Juan García Sánchez. Despite the apparent collaboration he offered to the Junta Superior de Excavaciones y Antigüedades (Superior Board of Excavations and Antiquities) by delivering some pieces from the site that he had bought from the Castilterranos, he also traded with them. The money he obtained from the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid seemed scarce, so he looked for other buyers who were willing to pay a higher amount.

Emilio Camps (1934) pointed out that they were appearing "in the antiquities market of Madrid abundant Visigothic specimens that were given as coming from Castiltierra". Therefore, if we consider Camps' words and the proximity of Madrid, it is most likely that the piece was found there before being sold abroad. In the early 1940s it was in the hands of Tomás Harris, son of Lionel Harris and Enriqueta Rodríguez y León. His father had founded in 1898 The Spanish Art Gallery, a firm dedicated to the sale of works of art. When Tomás started in the paternal business he was dedicated to the diamond and jewelry trade (Martínez Ruiz, 2018). His interest in goldsmithing guided many of his acquisitions, something that can be seen in this piece. Tomás traveled numerous times in Spain, so it is possible that he acquired it in the capital.

Later, on November 5, 1945, the owner of the Brummer Gallery, Joseph Brummer, bought from The Spanish Art Gallery the following pieces from Castiltierra: "14 fibulae, 7 belt broaches, 2 small eagles, 1 small deer, 1 beed necklace, 3 pottery jars, 5 rings, 35 fragments and various nails etc" (The Brummer Gallery Records, P16076). Brummer died in 1947, at which time his estate was put up for sale. Thereafter the collection was dispersed.

Parke-Bernet Galleries acquired most of the pieces and auctioned them in May 1949 in lot 341: "Collection of Visigothic bronze ornaments, from Castilnueva. Comprising fourteen chased bronze fibulae with segmental heads; seven belt buckles; seven small rings ornamented with bosses; four plaquettes, of which two are inlaid with colored glass paste; twelve penannular bracelets; and fourteen small buckles, beads and other fragments" (Parke-Benet Galleries, 1949).

This lot was acquired by Piero Tozzi, an antique dealer with galleries in New York and Florence. In 1968 Tozzi donated the earrings to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Foltiny, 1977).

I am grateful for the assistance of Katie Domurat, Curatorial Assistant at the Virigina Museum of Fine Arts.

Description

Jewelry was highly valued in Visigoth society. These pieces not only fulfilled an aesthetic function, but also a symbolic one, being essential elements in clothing, especially among those who belonged to higher social classes. Visigothic goldsmithing was largely influenced by Roman goldsmithing, something that can be seen in this pair of earrings. They have a cylindrical shape and, although it has been lost, it is most likely that it had a loop at one end to close it. Similar pieces with glass beads were found in the necropolis of Duratón (Segovia) and in the necropolis of El Carpio del Tajo (Toledo). Therefore, it is possible that these earrings also had beads.

Locations
* The relative location of dealers, antique shops, art galleries, and collectors leads us to the places where they were based or had one of their main headquarters. However, this does not always indicate that every artwork that passed through their hands was physically located there. In the case of antique dealers and art merchants, their business often extended across multiple territories; sometimes they would purchase items at their origin and send them directly to clients. Similarly, some collectors owned multiple residences, sometimes in different countries, where they housed their collections. It is often difficult to determine exactly where a specific piece was kept during its time in their possession. Consequently, the main location of the dealer or collector is indicated. These factors should be considered when interpreting the map. Refer to the object's history in each case.
Bibliography
Citation:

Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Pair of earrings. Possible Castiltierra provenance" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/345