Written by the TreasureGuide for the exclusive use of the Treasure Beaches Report.
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| Treasure Coast Find And Photo From Prado Museum. |
I looked at many from Italy and France, and nothing seemed to match. Most of the heads (of Christ) were turned or were stationed upwards.
I then found a match made by a one of the most prominent painters of Spain, Don Francisco de Zurbarán.
I looked at all the details for similarities--position of the outstretched arms; head downwards, but rotated slightly from NW to SE; light shining on forehead and nose; crown of thorns, but no halo; hair length and position on head; a lifeless body; a pronounced sternum on the chest; prominent folds of the cloth (notice the cloth on Christ's upper left leg--it is tucked over and in, then hangs down on his right side); knees are turned inwards; platform on bottom of feet.
I cannot see the feet well in your picture and what is there. If you can explain one day, that would be great. What I know is that this painting is the closest resemblance to your Corpus Christi I have seen. There is no doubt this came from the 1715 fleet. The time period and the Spanish background are right on; especially because many people on the fleet ships were from Seville. Zurbarán worked in Seville and Madrid. He became the court painter, but was mostly commissioned by churches, monasteries, and convents.
Zurbarán had done other Crucifixion paintings, but the one I chose, from 1640, seems the closest. It could be that the metal worker who made it had a model figure that was based on Zurbarán's painting. I personally think it was made in Spain, and was being carried by someone who was traveling (but we'll never know).
I am sending an interesting article on Zurbarán too...
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Did you know that it is possible to make a find too soon. What I mean by that is you can make a find before you are prepared to appreciate and handle some finds. You can misidentify items, damage them or even throw them away if you do not know what they are and how they should be handled.
There are some find that do not require so much care or caution. A gold coin, for example, is easy to recognize, will be appreciated even if not completely identified, and it doesn't require much cleaning or conservation. Still a good gold coin can be damaged or misidentified if you don't have some knowledge.
There are other kinds of finds that require a lot of knowledge and care. And most finds will be better appreciated when you have more knowledge.
I guess you are never completely prepared in this hobby. You can be absolutely sure about something and still be dead wrong. You find things you weren't expecting to ever see, and there are so many unknowns. It takes wisdom to know how to proceed when there are so many unknowns.
People have thrown away great finds, simply because they didn't understand or appreciate them. And some things are mistakenly identified or cherished as being something they are not.
People make big mistakes when they clean things with out really knowing how to do it properly. Many a coin or artifact has been damaged by the wrong choice of cleaning method.
When you are not sure, wait! Conduct research, ask questions, and study the item. Most things will survive while you wait.
Nobody will appreciate your finds as much as you do. You are the one that made the find, conducted the search, dug the item up, held it in your hand, but making the find is just the first step of what could become a long and enjoyable journey.
When you begin metal detecting you might dream of recovering riches, but if you stick with it for many years, you'll probably find that it is not so much about becoming rich as it is about what you learn in the process and the many people you get to know along the way.
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| Source: MagicSeaWeed.com. |
Looks like not much will be happening for a week or so.
Happy hunting,
TreasureGuide@comcast.net