Reliquary cross, possibly from Burgos, ca. 1600-1650.

Reliquary cross, possibly from Burgos, ca. 1600-1650.
Molded, cast, trimmed and nielloed silver; rock crystal, glass, organic matter, paper and fabric.
Inscriptions: 1.) DE LA/MORTA/IA. DE. IH; 2.) DE/SANTA/NDRE; 3.) DE SA/NTOD/SUNDAY/GO/DAY; 4.) DE SA/NTAOR/OFRIG/IA; 5.) DELOS/DIE3M/IL MAR/TIR 6.) DE/SANB/LAS.
Good preservation.
Published in "Plata y bronces en la colección Bordonaro", César González Zamora, Tomo 1, ficha nº85.
Weight: 242 g.
Measurements: 29 x 15 x 12,5 cm.

The cross now being auctioned is an important piece because it combines historical, artistic and devotional value: its clear link with the Order of St. Dominic allows to place it in a specific religious context, while the set of relics -including the rare dedication of St. Orofrigia- reflects a symbolic program typical of the Dominican environment and, probably, of the province of Burgos; Moreover, its design and techniques (silver niello, rock crystal, cresting) make it a good example of goldsmithing from the first third of the 17th century, and the fact that the central relic was replaced after the canonization of Saint Rose of Lima in 1671 is evidence of the evolution of devotions, making the cross not only an artistic object, but also a living testimony of changing religious practices.

It is, then, a Latin cross with a hollow structure, formed by rectangular blades on the edges. It has a cresting of inverted crosses and small balusters. The ends of the arms are topped by rectangular molded plates, on which there is a symmetrical ornamentation with upside-down crosses and a central knob. In the hollows of the arms there are alternating square silver boxes and ovoid faceted rock crystal beads. The boxes, attached to the edges, have a circular window on both the front and back: on the front, protected by glass, they show the corresponding relic accompanied by one or more beads; on the back, closed, they have slightly domed buttons of nielloed silver with the identification of the relic. The rock crystals are set by means of transversal wires.

In the center of the cross is a removable square frame on the obverse side that protects a fragment of cloth. The frame on the back has been lost, although a piece of paper with a handwritten inscription from the 19th century indicating: "Reliquia de santa Rosa de Lima" (Relic of St. Rose of Lima) has been preserved. On the diagonals of the transept there are balusters, two of which are missing. The piece has a bayonet for its attachment to a now unknown foot; originally it was accompanied by a gilded silver historicist base adapted to fit the cross.

Everything indicates that this reliquary cross was commissioned by a convent of the Order of Saint Dominic. From its origin, it was conceived to house specific relics, whose names appear on the niello buttons: the shroud of Jesus, St. Andrew, St. Dominic, St. Orophrygia, the Ten Thousand Martyrs and St. Blaise. This set reveals a clear link with the Order of Preachers, especially for the presence of Saint Orofrigia, of local cult in the monastery of Santo Domingo de Caleruega.

Likewise, devotion to Saint Blaise, Bishop Orofrigia, spread in the province of Burgos during the reign of the Duke of Lerma, which reinforces the possible geographic origin of the piece. The design of the cresting and the tops of the arms is related to the cast borders of the bronze frames of the agnusdéis of the first third of the 17th century.

Finally, the inclusion in the center of a relic of St. Rose of Lima, a Dominican tertiary canonized in 1671, confirms the Dominican affiliation of the cross. Everything indicates that the original content of the central frame was later replaced by this fragment of cloth associated with the saint.