Title

Pendant reliquary

Anonimous

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Cultural context / style

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Iconography / Theme

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Object history

Francisco Gómez de Sandoval y Rojas, one of the most powerful men during the reign of Philip III (1598–1621), had a significant influence on the king’s decision to move the capital to Valladolid in 1601. In December 1600, the Duke of Lerma acquired the patronage of the Convent of San Pablo (Valladolid) with the intention of being buried there alongside his wife (Palomares, 1970; Banner, 2009). To this end, he funded its renovations: the church’s roof was rebuilt, his family’s coats of arms were added, and the church was adorned with the finest decorations (Pérez Gil, 2019). The convent’s chief sacristan, Friar Alonso Lovete, compiled an inventory of the paintings, tapestries, and liturgical vestments deposited by the favorite on March 20 (Archive of the House of Medinaceli, Casa Denia-Lerma, leg. 71-29). Just a few months later, the Duke of Lerma once again displayed his wealth by presenting the institution with brocades, chasubles, vestments, and pieces of gold and silverwork. In total, he donated 61 pieces of silverware and jewelry on September 12 (Archive of the House of Medinaceli, Casa Denia-Lerma, leg. 71-30). One of these pieces of jewelry was precisely this pendant reliquary.

The convent underwent numerous upheavals throughout its history: the War of Independence and the confiscations severely affected its assets, leading to the dispersal of part of its property. It is unknown when the piece left the convent, but it was eventually sold on the German art market (Frankfurt) in the early 19th century (Williamson, 1910). There, Eugen Gutmann (1840–1925), a prominent banker, acquired it and displayed it in his Berlin residence.

In 1902, Gutmann faced serious financial difficulties that forced him to part with part of his collection. In order to liquidate it, he contacted the firm J. & S. Goldschmidt Antiquitäten, who in turn wrote to John Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913). The American tycoon was an avid collector of jewelry from the Modern Era, so he did not hesitate to purchase it (Joned, 1907). Morgan had become a major benefactor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and after his death, his son Jack donated the collection to the institution on his father’s behalf in 1917. Today, the Metropolitan Museum of Art holds the reliquary pendant.

Description

This piece of jewelry is a reliquary pendant—a piece designed to be worn on a chain and to hold a relic inside. The hexagonal frame is made of gold, and traces of white, green, and red enamel are visible. In the center are two panels of painted glass: on the front is a depiction of St. John the Baptist wearing a tunic made of camel hair and holding an Agnus Dei; on the back is the Assumption of the Virgin, depicting the moment when Mary is taken up to heaven by a group of angels.

Locations

• Last quarter of the XVI^th c. - 1609

  private collection

  Francisco de Sandoval y Rojas, 1st Duke of Lerma, Valladolid (Spain) *

• ca. 1609

  convent

  Convent of Saint Paul, Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain)

• Mid XIX^th c.

  dealer/antiquarian

  Art Market, Germany (Germany) *

• 1902

  private collection

  Eugen Gutmann, Berlín (Germany) *

• ca. 1902

  auction house

  J. & S. Goldschmidt Antiquitäten, Frankfurt (Germany)

• ca. 1902 - 1917

  private collection

  John Pierpont Morgan, New York (United States) *

• ca. 1917 - present

  museum

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (United States)