Our Treasure of the Month for May is a very rare and unique item, unlike anything we have featured before. The item in question is, according to research and careful reassembly, a three-tiered gold vermeil sacramental with a Columbus statue at the top. The item was used in religious processions in the streets of Spanish colonial cities in the Americas. In the Catholic church, a sacramental is a holy sign or object instituted by the church to sanctify daily life. The use of Columbus on a New World church relic is not unusual, as the Spanish culture revered him as the original vehicle for spreading Christianity in the Americas.
The statue is approximately 17 inches tall and weighs 2.8 lbs (total). XRF results: mostly around 30% to 50% gold and silver, with parts as high as 67% gold and 31% silver, but some parts as low as 98% silver and 1% gold. It is pedigreed to the Trabucco Treasure Auction ’93 (January 1993).
This artifact is currently listed as Lot #1600 in the upcoming Sedwick Auction 39, scheduled for May 6-9, Winter Park, FL. Ex 1715 Fleet, with Sedwick photo-certificate from 2008 and Karen McKee certificate from 2007.
Special thanks to Augi Garcia (Member #3) and Sedwick and Associates, LLC, for providing the images and the text for our Treasure of the Month for May.
